The Agent's Blade
by CanisLupusHorribilis
Summary: The assassin’s bullet had found its mark, digging into her true love’s heart. Now the agent’s blade digs in deep, daring to hold onto what he should not keep. Sequel to The Assassin's Bullet.
1. Chapter 1

The Agent's Blade

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except the little poem/rhyme thing at the beginning.

A/N: So, those few of you who read The Assassin's Bullet are probably asking what the hell is going on here. Well, I decided to end that story and start its sequel. That's all. I should've added that at the end of The Assassin's Bullet but I kinda decided on this last minute. Summary might change eventually. Short first chapter.

_The assassin's bullet had found its mark, _

_Digging into her true love's heart._

_Now the agent's blade digs in deep, _

_Daring to hold onto what he should not keep._

---Washington D.C., January 30th---

The butt of the gun slammed into his stomach hard enough to send the well trained agent to his knees. Leon's hands were bound behind his back and he didn't have any of his own weapons on him. He was screwed.

"Well, well, well… Ain't so tough now, are we pretty boy?" a snide voice scoffed above the blond. Leon forced himself to keep his head down, acting like he was giving up. Hardly. "That was for my brother. This is for my nephew." The gun slammed down again, this time on Leon's back in-between his shoulder blades.

The agent dropped, hardly feeling anything as his face hit the cold cement. He'd taken much worse through his life. Being whacked by a gun felt like a butterfly's touch compared to his back slamming into a pillar of steel after being hurled through the air. Such had occurred in the Dome, a huge facility designed for research.

The cold muzzle suddenly pressed to Leon's skull, making the agent tense up slightly. He wasn't worried about dieing. He'd decided long ago that he was long overdue for Death to take him by the arm and guide him away. He was worried about the three women he hadn't seen for what had to be days. He guessed it was days because he was starving slowly, having only been given small plastic cups of water and nothing else.

"This is going to be last thing you ever do," the voice snarled above him. Leon felt a cocky smile, the one that one of the woman he'd been traveling with had always said was extremely cute, grow upon his lips.

"What…?" he asked, his throat aching viciously. "No… 'What's your last words?' Not a very…good murderer are you?"

"Fuck you!" the voice growled furiously, the muzzle digging even deeper. Leon hardly reacted however. "Did you or your whores give my brother or nephew time for last words?"

That did it.

Leon, moving as fast as his aching body allowed, turned onto his back and slammed one large boot into the other man's chest. The man fell back, his gun falling uselessly from his hands. Leon stood, his hands falling to his side. In his right was his eight inch combat knife that he never left home without. The blade had been hidden under his belt, which they hadn't checked when they'd brought them in. It hadn't been difficult to get the serated edge of the blade through the flimsy rope that had bound his hands behind his back.

The agent crouched and grabbed the gun, an AK-47. The weapon was covered in blood and other gore that Leon didn't care to think about. He walked over to the man, who cowered on the floor before him, and pressed the muzzle of the gun to his thin chest.

"Don't call them that," he ordered darkly and pulled the trigger.

---

Ada heard the gunshot and lifted her head. Her green eyes searched the darkness, hoping to catch sight of one of the other prisoners who were in the small cell with her. Sherry, Angela, an old woman, and a thin man with acne all sat in the room but it was too dark to truly see any of them. The only time she'd been able to get a good look at them was when somebody dropped bottle of water into the room and light spilled in from the hallway.

"What the fuck was that?" the thin man suddenly squeaked. Ada wasn't certain how old he was but he sounded like he had yet to actually hit puberty. "Who got shot?"

"Oh God," Angela whimpered. Sherry scoffed at Angela's whimper.

"Leon's too good to be killed by these assholes," the teen remarked darkly. Ada agreed with the young teenager. Leon was much too good to be killed by a bunch of morons with peashooters.

_They weren't using peashooters when you killed them…_ she bitterly reminded herself.

She, Leon, Sherry, and Angela had entered Washington D.C. two days after boarding the bus. It had taken so long since a huge barricade had forced them to take the longest route possible to get to the city. Only a day after walking the city over, they'd been attacked by what Ada would've considered a bunch of morons with shotguns and automatics.

_"We're people!" Sherry cried, her pale eyes wide with shock as bullets tore at the asphalt near their feet. They were pinned between the shooters about five meters away from them and a crowd of zombies. "Why are you shooting at us?!"_

_"Zombies don't give us sport!" a shrill voice cried back. Suddenly, the thundering crack of a Desert Eagle tore through the air, making Ada look over at Leon. The agent, who'd taken Sherry's monstrous handgun and had given the teen his smaller one, had shot the gun off. She heard the dull thud of a corpse hitting the ground followed by somebody crying out._

_"You son of a bitch!" the newer voice cried out. Ada took out her own handgun and shot the new person, carrying a 12 gauge shotgun, who'd appeared beside the corpse. _

_Leon was about to say something when a light clanking noise came from near their feet. Ada looked down and saw a grenade. She started to back off, as did the others, when it expelled smoke that made her choke and cough. Her eyes burned and her body felt suddenly weak. She knew what it was. Sleeping gas._

She hadn't seen Leon since they were out on the streets of D.C. She and the other two of their group had been trapped in the dark room since then and they hadn't really eaten anything since then. Except the pack of crackers Sherry had on her. Luckily, they weren't all chained to anything so they didn't have to worry about whether or not they could move around.

"Do you think this Leon of yours will come to free us?" the old woman suddenly asked, her voice croaking since she hadn't drank any water since they'd woke. Ada estimated it had been about five hours since they'd woken.

"He will," Angela said. "He won't leave us here."

"Yes he will! He'll protect his own fucking self and leave us here to waste away!" the Acne Man suddenly shrieked. Ada jumped at how high pitched his voice was. Suddenly, the door that hadn't opened in days, opened.

Dull light spilled into the door, not bright enough to harm their dark friendly eyes. Ada guessed it was Leon so she stood and immediately exited the room. Sure enough, Leon stood near the door, watching the dark hallways.

"Did you kill one of them?" she whispered as the others followed her. He nodded silently. She saw the exhaustion in his eyes and she could only guess he'd gotten worse treatment than she had. "You okay?"

"He blamed me for his brother and his nephew dieing. That's why he had us separated," Leon finally said. She rested her hand on his shoulder as the others walked silently up to them.

"You did what you had to."

"I know. I don't regret what I did."

"Leon, you're okay," Sherry whispered. Ada moved and let the teen give the man a quick hug. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"Nope," he promised. Ada could see a smile on his face even in the dark. The one thing she'd always noticed about him was his ability to always keep a smile on his face. He could smile no matter what.

"Okay, which way is the way out?" Acne Man suddenly asked. Leon's face took on a perplexed look and Ada bit back a laugh.

"Um… I don't know. I just came from the right so…the left would be a good choice. But I don't even know where we are," he admitted. "Who the hell are you?"

"Darius Wells," Acne Man, Darius, replied. "Names aren't exactly important though."  
"They kinda are," Sherry snapped back. "I'm Sherry Birkin. The woman with the long hair is Angela Miller. And this one, the one with the black hair is Ada Wong. And finally, this guy is Leon Kennedy."

"I'm Lenore Reynolds," the old woman said.

"Okay, now that we're all best friends can we get the fuck out of here?" Darius squeaked. Ada wanted to kill him.

---

Sherry kept close to Leon as they walked, her eyes flickering back and forth. Out of all of them, she had the best eyesight. After all, she was 'infected' with a virus and most of her abilities were enhanced. Because of her eyesight, she carried the AK-47 Leon had brought with him.

"We have to find our weapons," Ada finally said. "We'll never make it deeper in D.C. if we don't find them."

A loud banging noise echoed through the dark hall, followed by Angela softly hissing out a curse. "I found a box guys," she grumbled from clenched teeth. Sherry scoffed slightly. "I think…it sounded like something moved inside of it."

"Like an animal?" Lenore questioned.

"No, like metal," Leon replied for Angela. He knelt down and Sherry watched as he felt around the edge of the top of the box. After several seconds of searching, he gently tugged the top of the box and Sherry grinned as she spotted the gleaming metal of a gun. "Not very smart was he?" Leon chuckled, gently pulling guns out.

Sherry took Leon's USP from his hand as he set her Desert Eagle on the floor next to him with his other hand. Ada stepped forward and took hers and soon Angela had one as well. He even pulled out a shotgun. The last thing he pulled out was his flashlight.

---

"Thank God it's dark out," Angela said as they walked out of the building. Even the dull light hurt her eyes.

The building they had escaped from turned out to be some kind of factory that had been emptied out. Nobody else had been in it. Angela guessed that the three men had been its only inhabitants.

The sky was a dismal black-grey color. Snow clouds, if Angela remembered correctly. The ground was damp from rain and the snow that still covered the ground was runny, like a slushy instead of the thick snow that usually came in January. Thick smoke billowed into the sky from the city. Fires, Angela realized. Washington D.C. was burning.

"Shit, what the fuck is going on?" Darius whimpered.

"Arsonists," Lenore suddenly explained. All eyes turned to the elderly woman. Her head was down so her short grey hair was in her face. She was about a foot shorter than Ada, who stood near her. "The city's filled with them. Me and my husband were fleeing from them when that…that…" She stopped talking and small tears streamed from her eyes. Everybody bowed their heads in respect and somewhat in sorrow and silence filled the air. "They're burning Washington D.C. to the ground. They said…We heard them say their final target is the White House."

"Then we'll need to get there before they can do that," Leon said steadily. His icy blue eyes stared out into the smoke and Angela imagined he was thinking.

"We? As in…all of us?" Darius asked. Leon nodded. "You're willing to help me and her?" Leon nodded again. "Why?"

"That's my job," Leon simply replied.


	2. Chapter 2

The Agent's Blade

---Washington D.C., January 30th---

The only thing that kept them warm on the dreary, icy day was their combined body heat and the tiny fire Leon had started. They all surrounded the small blaze, holding their numb fingers above it and even daring sometimes to let it lick their skin. Sherry had almost dropped her hand into the flames completely, showing off her lack of pain when she tugged her hand back out and simply shook it to rid the red that had replaced the pale color of her skin.

Snow and rain fought for control of the skies overhead. They sat in the ground floor of a building, which might've been an apartment building before the outbreak, and listened to the patter of rain or the howling wind which seemed to promise snow. Cold winds snuck into the building through the cracks in the windows and the doors. Every now and then the fire would flutter weakly and one of them would lean over the blaze to protect it.

Ada was pressed tight enough to Leon, with her head on his shoulder and close to his throat, that she could feel his pulse in his neck. Their fingers were intertwined with the others, sweat making their palms slick against each other. But they refused to release their grip. It was the only thing they had at that moment.

"So, anybody know any good ghost stories?" Darius suddenly asked, casting a curious look around the circle. Nobody spoke, though Sherry looked at him curiously. "To take our minds off the storm…the arsonists…everything…"

"Um…no…but I have a decent story," Sherry said. "It's called 'the crazy scientist.'" Her eyes met Leon's and he slowly shook his head. She shrugged. "But it's not really appropriate for the situation we're in."

Lenore stared at the girl silently before looking out of the closest window and into the black abyss that had replaced Washington D.C. Her eyes were sorrowful and Ada guessed she was remembering life before the outbreaks.

_Hard to believe this hell has only been going on for about a month… _she thought to herself bitterly. _After all, from what we've been hearing, the world has been taken by the virus. A month. It took a month._

"So, Lenore, you saw the beginning of the outbreaks?" Darius asked. Ada wanted to tell him to shove his foot into his mouth and bite down. But the elderly woman simply nodded and smiled weakly. "What was it like?"

"Scary. But the city was overrun with gangs and cops and all kinds of people carrying guns before the virus reached it. I wasn't that afraid," she replied, her eyes suddenly distant and thoughtful.

"D.C. collapsed before it even had the virus?" Sherry asked, confused. Lenore nodded slightly.

"Something like that. She started to shake, I suppose you could say," the woman explained, looking at the young teen. Ada noticed that Lenore respected Sherry, a lot. She guessed that Lenore had once had a family with a teen aged member like Sherry.

"Lenore…" Leon suddenly said, speaking for one of the first times since they'd entered the building. "Can you lead us to the White House?" he asked. She stared at him with something close to shock in her eyes. "I could but…"

"What are you going to do?" Sherry asked suddenly, her eyes glaring at him over the fire. The blaze reflected in her steel-blue orbs, giving her a surreal appearance with her golden blonde hair, now a fiery red, and her blazing eyes.

"Somebody has to make a distraction to keep the arsonists off our backs," he said with a shrug. Darius and Lenore gaped at the agent like they couldn't believe a man could be so selfless. "And I'm the one to do that."

"Bullshit you are," Angela suddenly hissed. For the first time, Ada completely agreed with the S.R.T. member. "If anything one of us women are. We can distract them."

"Yes, because I'm going to risk that," he said sarcastically. Ada squeezed his hand and he looked down at her.

"You're not going to listen to us, are you?" she breathed. His eyes fell from hers and he silently shook his head.

"I'm the one with the most physical strength anyway," he said after a short pause. "I'm the one that can fight my way out of things without using guns." Ada didn't bother to add that she could too. Leon was too thickheaded to listen. She knew that about him. And he was right, anyway. He had the physical strength to fight his way out.

"…How…" Angela started. "How are you going to distract them…"

"That's a problem…I was thinking a fire," he admitted, looking at the group. Lenore gave him a confused stare. "People at this stage of life…of living I guess I should say…are like animals. Animals don't like when others of their species invade their territory. If they think another arsonist has moved in, they'll come after me," he explained. "But I…don't really know where to start a fire that could ensure to grab their attention."

All was silent except the wailing wind and the group stared at everything but one another for a long period of time. Ada unconsciously leaned into Leon's side and prayed that somehow he wouldn't go through with his suicidal plan and would come with them instead. But Darius lifted his head suddenly.

"I was a pyro as a kid," he said, looking at Leon. But Lenore and Angela both shot him confused looks and he smiled weakly. "A pyromaniac? I loved fire. I played with it, caught things on fire, all that fun stuff. I can…I can help you."

"You realize…" Leon started but trailed off. He didn't seem to want to scare the man any more than he already was.

"Yeah, it's pretty much suicide, I know. But I also know that the best building to catch on fire to catch people's eyes is the theater downtown. We can all go there, the girls can head off to the White House, we'll catch the bitch on fire, and they'll come a runnin'," Darius continued, his hands wringing nervously in his lap.

"You guys could run as soon as the arsonists came," Sherry offered. Leon moved and Ada guessed he was looking at her now. She couldn't see his face though so she wasn't certain.

"They'll see where we're going," Leon disagreed.

"So, you're going to get yourselves killed," Angela breathed, tears in her eyes. Ada felt slight anger build inside her. Angela could cry over the idea and yet here she was, sitting dry-eyed against his side.

"Possibly," Darius answered. "But we might just take some of the fuckers down with us."

"Then that's all we can hope for," Lenore said sadly. "I'll take them to the White House. And you two boys… Fight them with everything you have. If you're brave enough to sacrifice yourselves for us, you're brave enough to come back to us too."

---

It was about midnight when Leon woke.

A nightmare had torn him from his sleep and instead of in the flaming world that was Raccoon City, he was in the black world that was the Washington D.C. apartment, the only noises the soft breathing of the slumbering people around him and the crying wind. However, the warm woman who'd been sleeping at his side was gone.

He lifted himself into a sitting position and looked around. She stood near the window next to the main doors, her raven hair falling into her face messily. She looked like a ghost, or at least a porcelain doll. Her skin caught the light from the storm outside, every now and then shining white as a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, and her hair was a stark contrast to her pale skin.

He stood and walked over to her, stopping when he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with her. They stared into the outside world together, watching as the undead struggled dumbly to walk in the ferocious winds and rain. Hail, he realized suddenly, had replaced the rain.

"You're really going to sacrifice yourself?" she asked, looking up at him. Her green eyes seemed to glow in a sudden flash of light caused by lightning and he found himself staring at her.

"I've always wanted to repay you for what you did in Raccoon," he replied when he finally dragged his eyes away from hers. She reached down and grabbed his hand. They weren't in what one could consider a relationship but the touch warmed him.

_If I survive the fire we're going to start…I'm asking her to marry me… _he thought to himself, barely able to hide the joy he felt from feeling her hand in his.

"You don't need to," she whispered.

He looked down at her but she didn't meet his gaze. Her eyes stared out the window but he didn't fail to notice the tears that seemed to shimmer in them.

"You're right," he replied. "But I want to."

They fell into a silence that was only punctuated by the slapping sound caused by the hail striking the roof and the roar of thunder.

---The Bunker, January 31st---

"Downing?" Graham asked, gently prodding the silent man with a finger. Downing had fallen asleep two days ago and hadn't moved. He was still breathing though. The doctors weren't certain if the coma-like state he was in was because of his ruined knee or if it was because of something else. "You should wake up buddy. I just got news from our friendly neighborhood fire-starters. They've burned all but two important buildings in D.C. The White House is next."

"You're kidding me, right?" the British man groaned, opening his eyes. He reached for his glasses which the President handed to him. Graham felt a cruel grin grow on his lips and he had to question on whether he was sane any longer.

"Sure am. Actually, the fire-starters have only burned two buildings in D.C. Ain't I an asshole?" he laughed. He walked away and spotted Claire Redfield glaring at him. "Just because you're enamored with him doesn't mean I'm not going to be an ass to him."

Ark, who sat at Claire's side, looked at the redhead with something close to shock on his face.

_Oops. Hope I didn't break them up. They were kinda cute, _Graham thought to himself as he walked to where his daughter sat. _Though Leon and Ada are much cuter… Heh…_

A/N: Short, I know. I kinda wanted this to be a filler. I can promise, though, that the next chapter will be much longer.


	3. Chapter 3

The Agent's Blade

---Washington D.C., January 31st---

The sun peeked shyly from behind the clouds and illuminated the water clogged streets. It reflected off the large pools of rain water that had accumulated just about everywhere and nearly blinded the six people walking down the streets. Darius hid his eyes behind his hand and looked around wearily.

"The theater's not too much farther now," Lenore said gently. She walked stiffly but Sherry stayed next to her in case the old woman needed help. Angela walked at the back of the group, her eyes wide and alert. Ada and Leon walked in the very front, tensed up and ready to shoot anything that moved.

"How far is the White House?" Sherry asked, looking at the woman. "Because we might need to think of somewhere to sleep if it's too far."

"From the theater…it's several miles. We'd be smartest to hide out in a hotel for the night," Lenore said, looking down the empty streets. The emptiness was bothering everyone, Ada realized. Where were the undead or the people?

"Something's wrong," Darius suddenly hissed behind them. Ada cast him a bitter look but Lenore pointed one finger forward. They all followed the direction of her hand and saw it, the theater. "Alright, here's where we split ways," Darius mumbled. Ada feared he was going to back out and leave Leon to fend for himself. But he stayed still and didn't run.

"Keep going. You'll want to make as much progress as possible," Leon said to the group. Lenore silently started past him and Sherry did too. Ada guessed good-byes were too hard. Angela followed the other two and only Ada stayed behind.

As Darius walked towards the theater, she grabbed Leon's shirt and pulled him down into a kiss. When they pulled apart, they rested their foreheads together and Ada breathed, "Come back to us, Leon. Or I'll come back for you."

---The Bunker, January 31st---

"That was…odd…to say the least," Ark mumbled as he and Claire walked back over to Lily and Rani. The two girls didn't really interact with anyone anymore. The situation was finally gaining control of the minds of the young. None of the children in the Bunker spoke or played anymore.

"For you, it was odd. For me, it was just plain creepy," Claire mumbled at his side. He glanced over at her and couldn't help but feel furious at the jealousy that was building in his chest.

_How can I judge her on whether she does or doesn't like that guy? It's not like it should even matter to me, considering we're not dating or anything… _he thought to himself bitterly. He sat down next to Lily and played with his new jacket's string.

They'd all been given new clothes and hot showers. The Bunker had been designed for just what they were going through; some kind of long term problem in the outside world so the President and the rest of the important people in the government lived in the Bunker. They were all safe for another five years. Then provisions would start running low. And hot water was destined to last for another ten years, so showers were constantly promised. Hell, they even had eighteen different shower rooms, all cut off from one another for privacy. And these were big showers.

"Ark?" Claire's voice dragged him out of his reverie and he looked over at her. "I was asking it you think Leon and them are all alive."

"If I know Leon…" Ark started, though he didn't add _at least I think I do_ at the end. "Then he's alright and on his way here at this very moment. Why?"

"Because… There's a teenager with them…Sherry… We didn't leave off on the best terms."

Ark knew about Sherry. Leon had told him about the young girl who'd been abandoned by Claire. Ark wondered if he should say something. Instead, he remained silent and stared forward.

Downing said something nearby and Ark noted how Claire instantly looked up. He clenched his jaw bitterly and continued staring at the ground, only listening to the soft conversations around him.

"I'll be right back," Claire said and walked over to Downing. Ark sighed bitterly and looked up, getting the eerie feeling that somebody was watching him. The President stood near his podium, though he wasn't looking at Ark, and stared out over the people. Ark lowered his gaze again, feeling like an idiot.

---Washington D.C., January 31st---

They walked into the run down theater, Leon's gun pointing their way. Ada had tied his flashlight to the top of the barrel of the Desert Eagle so they weren't blind as they entered the theater. Darius looked around nervously, as if fearing there would be zombies inside. But Leon couldn't hear, or smell, the undead so he doubted there was any.

"Okay, we should start the fires in the theaters," Darius said, pulling out a book of matches. Leon pulled his lighter from his pocket and handed to the smaller man, before he let Darius go in front of him. "We'll start at the back and move forward." The agent nodded and looked around carefully. He hated protecting people.

The theater was silent as they walked through the empty halls. Leon's boots crushed popcorn and candy and Darius accidentally kicked a cup with enough viciousness to send it flying. Leon flinched as the cup struck a wall and fell to the floor with a louder than usual noise. However, the cup also alerted the agent to a new noise. Voices. And dogs barking. And other things.

_A movie? _he asked himself. He motioned for Darius to get behind him and the man nodded. They walked down the hall as quietly as a pair of panthers on the hunt but Leon had a bad feeling burning in his heart. Ada's words rang in his head. He would get out of here alive. He wouldn't endanger them.

"What…?" Darius started but Leon shook his head angrily. Any noise could alert whoever was watching the movie.

The agent stopped in front of the doors, with Darius close behind him, and gently pushed one of the huge doors open. It slowly opened, filling the dark hall with light from the movie inside. Leon recognized it but didn't care to think of the name.

People filled the theater but he knew they weren't really people. For one, none of them moved. For two, none of them had hair. They were all mannequins. Except for one person in the very front. Leon nearly took a step back. The person, who sat right in front of the screen, was easily big enough to need four chairs to sit on. He was shoving popcorn, which was most likely stale, into his mouth with large hands. Leon started to step backwards when something in his brain clicked.

_Darius wanted us to come to the theater. He's clumsy enough to kick a cup but not stealthy enough that I can't hear him walking? Shit! _He bolted around only to stare down the barrel of what looked like an MP5. Leon cursed himself for falling into the trap.

"Heh, I'm amazed," Darius said, his voice somewhat deeper than before. Loud footsteps rang from behind them. "You found out before I even did anything. You really are government."

Leon didn't remember ever telling Lenore or Darius that he was Secret Service. The gun was aimed at his chest and a new hand reached up and tugged the Desert Eagle from his fingers. He didn't dare break eye contact with Darius to look over.

"Well, looky what we have here," a voice said with a slight Southern drawl. "Did good Paul. I'm amazed."

"You don't know how long it took me to trick those dumbshits in the factory to hold me 'prisoner' until somebody like Mr. Hero here came along," Darius/Paul replied. Leon moved slightly and something that felt like steel slammed into his gut, right where he'd been hit the other day, and he collapsed to his knees. "Hey, I worked hard to get him."

"I told you we're running low on females," the new man said angrily. Leon wanted to snap his neck but he stayed down out of caution. He didn't need to be hit again.  
"Yeah, well, he had some with him. Three ladies and an old hag. This one's lucky though. His little girlfriend, a sexy Asian, told him-"

Darius/Paul didn't finish his sentence because Leon moved quickly, pushing off the ground and smashing into him. The smaller man's form slammed into the wall and Leon moved back, ready to move when necessary. But the other man, who Leon had expected to act earlier, brought his weapon down over Leon's back, forcing the agent to his knees again.

"Oh, looky here… He doesn't like it when you talk about his female friend like that, Paul," the new voice chuckled. He knelt next to the aching agent and Leon got a good look at his face. It was dirty, facial hair sticking out of the coat of dirt like coarse patches of grass in a desert, and when he smiled his teeth were yellow with brown in between them. His breath reeked of decay but the agent didn't move.

"Fuck, he hits hard," Darius/Paul groaned in response. Leon wanted to snarl that if they laid a finger on Ada, Sherry, or the other two he'd hit even harder. But his back and his stomach disagreed with the idea of even moving, let alone attacking again.

"Clump, knock him out. We'll take him to camp for bait," the man near Leon ordered and the agent listened as he straightened up and walked away?

_Clump? _Leon wondered. Something that felt like a frozen chunk of meat suddenly closed around the back of his neck, cutting off his supply of air. Within a matter of seconds, the theater faded, replaced by the sweet abyss that was unconsciousness.

---

Ada had the worst feeling of foreboding terror in her heart. She didn't really recognize the feeling. In fact, she doubted she'd ever felt the feeling. But it seemed to cling to her heart; it seemed to be reminding her of the fact that instead of taking Leon with them, she'd let him go without a fight.

_I could've stopped him. I could've grabbed him and forced him to come with us. I could've ordered him. I could've screamed at him. He's still Leon. Agent or not, he's still the man I met in Raccoon. I could've told him that he'd taken that bullet for me, which was in basics equal to sacrificing himself for me. I could've done so much… But I didn't. I let him walk away. And now he's probably in danger or…or worse… _

She looked down at her feet as she walked through the rainy streets. Without a jacket, her skin was freezing, as was the others. They needed to find shelter. But some part of her longed to go back and find Leon and Darius. Find them and force them to come too.

And something else bothered her. Darius, the coward, had so willingly offered to sacrifice himself. That didn't seem to fit with his character.

_Stop over complicating matters. As if they aren't bad enough already…_

---The Bunker, January 31st---

The President found his current situation much like a soap opera. He'd watched a couple episodes of some of the shows with his wife before he'd entered his current position as head of the country, and he recalled situations much like the one he could see inside their safe haven.

They had family drama, with the family who lived in the far off section of the Bunker; they constantly fought and bickered over things. They had the teenage romance, though the 'teens' weren't really teens. They even had the romance drama; Claire Redfield harboring feelings for, apparently, both Ark Thompson and Frederic Downing.

_What was that saying? Hm… Whatever… All I know is people love what they can't have more. Is that why little Miss Redfield is after evil Mr. Downing instead of kindly Agent Thompson, _Graham thought to himself.

He felt like laughing because, truly, what else could he do. The situation was purely ridiculous to begin with and now it was mixed with some ridiculous soap opera drama?

Ashley looked at him suddenly and the urge to laugh faded. She was still worried sick for the agent that had so gallantly saved her the year before. He was too, secretly. Ada and Leon had him worried sick. Where were they? Were they still alive? Were they heading towards safety at this moment?

"I'm sure he's fine, sweetie," Graham lied. He felt sick to his stomach, which always seemed to promise bad news. He didn't truly believe Leon Kennedy was fine. Alive, maybe. Fine, no.

"Yeah, sure," Ashley mumbled and looked away from him. Graham wished, oh how he wished, that he could only believe that Leon was fine. How he wished…

A/N: Not much longer, I know. But I tried. (It's hard to type with freezing fingers.)


	4. Chapter 4

The Agent's Blade

---The Bunker, February 1st---

Ark ruffled his damp hair as he walked back into the main room of the Bunker. Steam filled the hall leading to the room, caused by the hot water of the showers hitting the cool air of the underground building. The steam always made people slightly more relaxed. But not Ark. Not today.

Because Claire was spending yet another day with Downing. And Ark didn't understand how she could do that. She was talking to Downing like they were old friends, like they'd once been the closest of companions. She spoke to Downing like they shared secrets, almost like they were lovers. And that was silently driving Ark up a wall.

"You alright?" President Graham suddenly asked, walking over to Ark. The younger man still didn't like the look in the President's eyes. The once calm looking man was always upset looking now, almost like something was always bothering him. Ark dared not think that the most powerful man in the world had lost his mind. "You look a bit bitter."

Ark couldn't help but look at Claire and Downing, who were chatting away with smiles on their faces. He didn't mean to let Graham know what was bothering him but it was obvious and he couldn't help but want somebody to sympathize with him.

"Ah," the President breathed gently. A wide smile found its way onto his lips as he said, "So, they're really bothering you. Interesting."

"Not really," Ark grumbled. Graham looked at him curiously.

"To which point? The 'they're bothering you' one or the 'interesting' one?" the older man asked, running a hand through his hair. His face was clean shaven, unlike most of the men in the Bunker. He obviously still cared for himself.

"Kinda both," Ark replied softly. Graham smile, which had never faded, seemed to grow. He looked at the two again.

"You know I'm the one who shot him in the knee, right?" Graham suddenly asked. Ark didn't react, though his chest seemed to constrict around his heart. He wasn't that surprised, in all honesty. But the way Graham said it, like it was something commonplace, something that belonged, bothered Ark.

"Now I do," Ark remarked as he pulled his eyes from Claire and let them rest on Lily. She was drawing on the walls of the Bunker with Rani and some of the other younger girls. Even that young woman that followed Lott around was drawing with them.

"Now you do. I'm surprised Downing didn't say it as you guys walked about," Graham admitted. "They say I've lost my mind. Do you believe that Agent Thompson?"

"Not really," Ark replied and the funny thing was that he wasn't really lying. "You don't seem completely there but who of us really is?"

"Bet you Leon and Ada are. They're always completely there," Graham responded, scratching the back of his head silently. "Always so calm…always so ready… It's weird, really. This situation…it's like second nature to them. You know Ada refused to take missions from me that had anything to do with the T-Virus? And it wasn't really because of Raccoon."

"What?" Ark asked, casting the President a confused look. He had to wonder if the assassin appreciated Graham giving away her secrets.

"Yeah…it was a terrible mission. Nearly two years after Raccoon. I told Ada to go into a city in Russia that had fallen to the virus. This city was full of all kinds of immigrants, including Americans and British and even Africans. Well, Ada got there after the city was long gone. She found some survivors… A woman and her daughter along with a couple men and an old man. Old man turned out to be some nutcase… Noel or something like that… I don't know. But she got there and helped them start to flee the city.

"But right before they got to the outskirts, to the pick-up zone, they encountered a tyrant. Kinda like the one you dealt with. But this thing... It killed all but Ada, the girl, and the old man."

Ark wasn't certain if he wanted to hear the story anymore.

"They found a building to hide in but the tyrant kept trying to bring down the door. Ada told me that Noel suggested death as an escape. Ada and the girl, did I mention her name was Amy? Well, Ada and Amy agreed to his idea. But the question was…who'd kill who?

"Ada eventually ended up having to do it. She killed Noel, no hesitation. Amy looked away and covered her eyes and bam! Noel was dead. Ada was an assassin, after all. She'd killed her fair share of people. But then the little girl.

"Now Ada knew an evac would be coming soon. But she didn't know how long soon would take. So, she told the little girl to close her eyes, put the gun to her head, and shot her too. An hour later, Ada was found on the roof of the building, having barely escaped the tyrant, by the evac chopper. Ada was never the same. And she never dealt with the T-Virus since."

Ark regretted ever hating Ada Wong.

---Washington D.C., February 1st---

Ada stared out into the slick streets from her position on the third story of the hotel. The room, that she and Sherry shared, was decently sized but she could've cared less. She would've rather been sleeping on the streets than panicking about Leon.

Her eyes lifted and scanned the skies, still gloomy with clouds. However, rain hadn't come the night before and a fresh fire should've poured smoke into the sky. So, where was the smoke from the theater?

"Where is it?" Ada whispered, hardly registering that she'd spoken aloud. Sherry, who'd been running a brush through her hair, walked over and stared out the window with the assassin.

"Where is what?" Sherry asked, her steely eyes searching the skies as well.

"The smoke? If they started the fire…where's the smoke?"

---

"So, we go after them, simple as that," Angela said, folding her arms over her chest. Sherry and Ada both shot her cold looks.

"Yeah, we all go out there and we all take the chance of falling into the same trap that they did," the teen snapped. "Ingenious." Lenore looked between the two blondes as they tried to stare each other down. In the meantime, Ada looked away thoughtfully. Sherry didn't want to know what was going through her head.

"I'll go," she finally said. Her green eyes blazed with emotions Sherry didn't recognize but she also didn't dare question the assassin.

"What? Why can you go but not us?" Angela snapped, turning on Ada. The Eurasian woman stared at Angela with about as much emotion as a robot and made the S.R.T. member back down.

"Why? Because I have the most training, because I have the most sense of a situation, because I can get myself out of dangerous situations without really trying. Why? Because I'm better than you. All you'd do is get them in even more danger than they already were. I'd at least help them," Ada stated. Her voice was neutral but Sherry saw her eyes. The assassin was upset. Very upset.

"Fine," Sherry finally said. She looked at the assassin. "You can go after Leon and Darius. But remember to be back soon. We'll give you… Two days. Max. Then we'll come looking."

"You should all be heading towards the White House. By the time I make it back, you guys could be lounging about in the Bunker," Ada replied bluntly. Sherry shrugged.

"I don't know about these two, but I owe Leon. A lot. And I plan on repaying him for all he's done. And if that means walking around instead of lounging, so be it," she replied. Angela nodded and Lenore seemed to also agree. Ada, however, looked at them as if they were all idiots.

"Don't come running when things get too real," she said darkly. "Let me have Leon's gun. I'll need the flashlight on it." Sherry handed it over and Ada walked out of the hotel without so much as a glance back.

---The Bunker, February 1st---

Claire walked away from Downing to make sure Rani was okay when she spotted Ark staring at the walls blankly. She frowned at him and walked over to his side. The walls, covered in drawings of all kinds, held nothing of great importance on them. At least, not that she could see.

"What's wrong Ark?" she asked finally, looking over at him. He didn't even look at her as he pointed to one drawing.

It was a pretty good drawing but she didn't recognize the people portrayed in it until Ark mumbled 'Leon and Ada' under his breath. Sure enough, the picture was of Leon and Ada, standing back to back with zombies and other things reaching for them. People started to crowd around the drawings and somebody asked who the two in the drawing were.

"Heroes," Rani replied simply.

---Washington D.C., February 1st---

When Leon regained consciousness, the first thing he noticed was the cold. It bit at his arms and fingers and even his neck. He realized that the cold wind that was blowing rather viciously was what had woken him up.

His neck, stomach, and back all ached something fierce, only made worse by the numbing wind. He tried to move his arms but they were bound behind his behind his back. And his back was up against a pole. The pole was holding him in place, he realized. He wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

"You're awake," a familiar voice taunted. He lifted his head to see Darius/Paul standing above him. The man looked different. Incredibly different. He was dressed in the same clothes but he had crude swords, made out of broken metal, on his back in what one could consider a shoulder harness. Leon didn't want to think about what the shoulder harness was made of. "Sorry you have to live outside but, you know, people don't like animals being near them. Makes it all that much worse later."

_What? Oh hell… _Leon was smart. He was very smart. He knew what Paul, as he guessed was his real name, was basically saying. They were cannibals. He was food. _Last thing I ever expected to happen to me…_

"Stop teasing him Paul," the voice from the theater called. He walked up with a massive person at his side. Leon remembered this person from inside the theater, remembered the thing grabbing his and cutting off his air with a gentle squeeze. "It's not nice. Or humane."

_Humane? You guys are nuts. Worse than Saddler and his crew, _Leon thought bitterly. Truly, there weren't many worse than Saddler but Leon guessed Paul and his buddy would easily surpass the Spaniard.

The huge form next to the man from the theater glared down at him with beady eyes that seemed to vanish within the folds of fat that formed his face. About halfway down his face was a bump that could've been a nose and an oval opening that was probably a mouth. The man was clad in what seemed to be a peach colored shirt and pants that were stretching to their limits. Leon held the huge man's gaze, however, without so much as a cringe. Having fought his way through Raccoon City and Spain and Harvardville and all the ones in-between, there wasn't much that could successfully scare him.

"Hm… Agent Kennedy, this is Clump. He's a big ol' teddy bear, really. Mind of a child. And he's just as vindictive as one too. See, all we have to do is tell him you did something he doesn't like and it's good-bye Agent Kennedy," the man from the theater said. Paul had a sadistic grin on his face.

"He probably wants to know how we know about his occupation," Paul pointed out.

The man nodded and said, "Well, Paul here, or Darius as he told you guys to call him, is a damn good pickpocket."

Leon scoffed and asked, "You want a metal?" His voice was rough sounding and he realized his throat was pretty scratchy. But all he cared about was the fact that Paul's smile fell away, replaced by burning hatred. "Or maybe you want the big ol' teddy bear to give you a hug," Leon said with a bitter laugh. The man next to Clump chuckled faintly but Paul, with a face red enough to challenge a tomato, turned to Clump and hissed something into the huge man's ear.

Leon regretted teasing as in a second Clump was in front of him, moving damn fast for his size, and slammed his fist into Leon's already aching stomach. But the agent didn't make a sound. In fact, other than lowering his head and clenching his teeth, the only obvious sign of his reaction was the fact that his shoulders tensed up. Clump backed away and the two men glared down at the agent.

"I appreciate the humor, Agent Kennedy. Paul doesn't. I'd suggest keeping you mouth shut. This stay with us isn't going to be pleasant to begin with. It'll only be worse if you try you luck."

The three walked away and left Leon in the cold, his entire body aching. He tasted iron on his tongue and spat the blood out next to him. He lifted his gaze and realized he couldn't care less what they did to him. He just had to pray that Ada, Sherry, Angela, and Lenore were safe and in the White House.

_Whatever you do… Ada…Sherry… Angela…please…don't come try to rescue me…_

A/N: Sorry for yet another short chapter. My fingers won't stay warm and that just makes typing so damn difficult. And I thought you guys could go for an early update instead of my late ones…


	5. Chapter 5

The Agent's Blade

---Washington D.C., February 2nd---

Sherry and Angela walked behind Lenore, who was leading them to the White House. Sherry kept hoping that if she turned around she'd see Ada and Leon jogging up and then they could all go to the White House together. She feared the worst had happened to Leon.

_And Darius… He bothered me in the damned factory… It's probably all his fault whatever happened, happened. _

It was obvious that the fire hadn't been started. It was obvious that the entire plan had backfired on them. But what had caused the plan to go so horribly wrong? Was it a mistake or was it a trap? Was it Darius' fault or Leon's?

And most of all, was Ada going to be able to save Leon alone. Because Sherry wasn't certain she could get backup for the assassin and the agent to go help them. And if not, if things were as bad as she thought, Leon and Ada were doomed.

"Come on, sweetie," Lenore called. Sherry realized she'd been slowing down and she walked faster to catch up with the other two. But her thoughts stayed with Leon and Ada, praying that they were all right.

---

Ada heard the crowd before anything else. They were screaming like a pack of wild animals hungry for blood and there were a lot of them. She hid in a building right next to the makeshift stage they'd built, only in the second story of the building and looked down at them. What was once an intersection had been turned into a crude arena, with the stage as the center of attention.

"Here's our guest of honor," somebody standing right below Ada's window chuckled. She froze her body and lifted her eyes to see a familiar face being forced onto the stage. Blond hair that was almost gold under the dull light from the sky, pale and very intelligent eyes, well built.

"Leon…" she whispered as the crowd roared even louder.

---The Bunker, February 2nd---

"So, we've got ourselves a bit of hero worship," Frederic said as Claire helped him over to the drawings on the walls. The drawings had become murals as the children added more and more to the pictures. Leon and Ada, standing gallantly amongst the zombies, seemed to be glowing thanks to a rampant blaze surrounding them.

"The people need it," Ark said bitterly from where he stood. He'd been watching over the mural since the day before, since several people had snarled that the pictures needed to be destroyed. "They have hope that Leon and Ada will save us. Sure, it's overly hopeful. But they need it."

"Yes? Well, what happens when they don't save us?" Frederic asked. Claire shook her head at Ark when she noticed his dark look.

"They will save us. It's as simple as that," Ark replied, shooting Claire an angry look before he walked off to find Lily or Rani.

The picture of Leon and Ada seemed to promise something they really needed. And Claire even wanted to believe that they were alive and that they were going to help. But Frederic was right about doubting them. She highly doubted that neither the agent nor the assassin was still alive.

"Unfortunate, really," Frederic mumbled before walking away. Claire continued to look at the mural, hope filling her mind.

---Washington D.C., February 2nd---

Leon looked around at the crowd in disgust. There were simply too many of them. Even if he had the Desert Eagle, he wouldn't have made it out alive. He doubted he would be able to make it out if he had some magical infinite rocket launcher.

The man from the theater, or Ugly as Leon had taken to naming him, turned to Leon with a grin on his face. "Had you been willing to share the Asian, I would've been willing to let you join us. Hell, I would've even let you keep her to yourself. We'd get the other two though. I'd get the younger one to-"

Leon tore from the grips of his holders and smashed his fist into Ugly's face. Instantly, their crude weapons, made out of broken metal with nails taped to one side, came down on his back and made him drop to his knees. His knees were badly bruised from how many times he'd dropped to his knees on a hard floor. The other man's nose dribbled blood and a psychotic grin found its way onto his face as he walked over to Leon.

"Damn boy, you sure can hit hard," he laughed. But then the grin fell away, replaced by a primal look in his eyes, and he barked, "Get him on the table!"

Hands grabbed Leon's arms and yanked him to his feet. They pulled him backwards and even his struggling didn't slow them down. They shoved him onto the steel table, which he'd only caught a glimpse of when they'd first brought him into the arena like setup. The cold bit through his shirt and at his flesh angrily.

"Hm… Where from folks?" Ugly cried. Leon's heart pounded faster than ever before as the crowd roared in response. At least six men, full grown and healthy, held him to the table and even as Leon moved and struggled and squirmed they held him still, almost like he was thin and weak and not as big and strong as he was.

"From the arms!" somebody shrieked, making Leon struggle to lift his arms from where they held them pinned to the table. "He's pretty muscular!"

"From the chest!" Leon struggled to free his torso.

"Back!"

Leon struggled again and again, kicking out with his heavy boots. Hands clamped down on his knees and shins and one even pressed to his throat. The agent remembered pictures of people torn apart by cannibals before he found himself thinking about Ada and Sherry.

_Please don't let them find me… _he thought, hoping that if there was a God, He was listening to the agent. _Ada… Sherry… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… I didn't… I failed you both… Ada… I couldn't keep my promise… I'm sorry._

Ugly suddenly held up his hands and the crowd fell silent. He turned around and walked over to Leon, pulling out a thin blade that was a pale tan which told the agent that it was made of bone or rock instead of metal. Leon's breathing remained calm and his heart finally stopped racing as he took control of his emotions again. What did he have to fear? He'd faced death too many times. He could take the pain about to come. The only thing he feared was Ada or Sherry or even the other two somehow seeing what was about to happen.

_Please don't be here. Please._

"I heard arm the most. We'll try that," he said, placing the tip of the knife against Leon's left bicep. The blade was dull enough that it only pierced the blond man's skin after Ugly put quite a bit of weight on it. Leon clenched his jaw. "Hope you like pain."

---

Sherry stared at the monstrous house before them. They'd made it. They were on the White House's lawn. Without Leon and Ada. She couldn't help but feel like now that they'd found it, they should go back for them.

"Come on," Angela said. They walked to the huge house, their eyes searching the grounds for anything not human. But Sherry didn't see anything the first glance over and she let her guard down. It wasn't like she cared anyway. She was too concerned for her friends.

"Who are you?!" somebody suddenly cried. The three women lifted their heads and stared at the large group of what Sherry guessed was Marines walked over to them. The man leading them lowered his gun as he looked over the battered trio. "…Any of you been bitten?"

"Had that happened, I would've killed whoever had been," Sherry replied calmly. The Marine gave her a look of surprise. She doubted that very many teenage girls, even in the situation they were now living, were as cold-blooded as she'd become.

_Years of living under the biggest asshole in the world can do that to you, _she added silently. She didn't feel like telling her personal story however.

"What are your names?" the Marine finally asked.

"Angela Miller, Lenore Reynolds, and Sherry Birkin. Sherry and I came from Harvardville with two others…" Angela replied, looking at him. The Marine gave her a curious look.

"Those two others wouldn't happen to be Leon and Ada, would they?" he asked. Angela shot Sherry a shocked look but the teen ignored her and nodded at the soldier. He grinned and asked, "Where are they?"

"Actually… We don't know," Lenore admitted. The soldier's grin fell and Sherry stepped forward.

"If you will…help me… I know where they went. The general direction at least. And I'll even explain what happened on the way there. But I need your help," she said, hoping.

The man stared at her for a second before he lowered his gaze to the ground. "Look, we're not well enough armed to go out into the city right now. We'll all go to the Bunker, get some gear, and then you can lead me and my team to Leon and Ada. How's that?"

Sherry wanted to snap that Leon and Ada could be dead by that time but she simply nodded her head instead and said, "Good enough."

The man nodded and started off for the White House. The trio of women followed them but Sherry could only continue to worry about her friends.

---

Ada bit onto her knuckle hard enough to make it bleed. She'd looked away from the scene when she'd heard the dirty faced man mumble something about Leon liking pain. Tears streamed endlessly down her face as she listened to the happy screams of the crowd.

Leon, however, made no noise. And because he made no noise, she had to force herself to not look at the window. But it seemed to beckon to her, almost as if it was promising her that Leon was going to be fine. Curiosity, that evil thing, finally got the best of her and she crawled closer to the window.

She peeked out the window and nearly cried out. She was close enough that she could see the blade in Leon's arm, sawing at his flesh. She could see his tense muscles in his jaw as he clenched it, forcing himself to not cry out. His eyes were squeezed shut. A soft sob escaped the assassin's throat and she ducked away, almost gagging from the image that her mind now refused to let go.

_Oh God, oh God, oh God, _she thought over and over. If there was a God, He was an evil bastard for letting a man like Leon go through what she'd just seen.

Fury, dangerously threatening to consume her, bubbled within her chest and she clenched her jaw. If it was the last thing that she ever did, Ada swore to the agent being harmed that she was murder the dirty faced man. She would make him scream.

---The Bunker, February 2nd---

Claire hugged Angela as Sherry stomped past her and to the President. The man looked for Leon, or possibly Ada, and almost didn't acknowledge Sherry when she stopped in front of him.

"Can I help you?" he finally asked. His eyes seemed unfocused and Sherry wanted to scream that, out of all of them, he had the least right to go insane. "Sherry, right? You've grown up."

That statement confused her but she didn't bother to say anything about it. Instead she stood right in front of him and said, "I need some of your Secret Service agents. To save Leon and Ada."

His eyes suddenly focused and hope seemed to bloom in them as he asked, "They're alive?"

"Yes," Sherry said, sounding more confident about that answer then she truly felt. "And I need some Secret Service agents to help me and the Marine's save them."

The President nodded his head happily, as if saving Leon and Ada was the greatest thing in the world, and said, "Anything. Take however many you want!"

To say the least, the President's attitude left Sherry a bit confused.

---Washington D.C., February 2nd---

Clump dragged the practically lifeless Leon back to his pole by the back of the agent's neck. Leon's boots scraped against the concrete as he tried to walk but failed. Clump's heavy breathing was the only other noise besides the sound of Leon's boots against the concrete, making Leon remember why his arm had just been torn open. At least some of the crowd was dining.

_Broke some of my molars… _he thought to himself suddenly as his tongue scraped over his newly cracked teeth. _Broke 'em right down the middle. _Clump suddenly turned him around, nearly making the agent lose balance, and slammed him against the pole. Leon groaned inaudibly as fresh pain flowed through his ruined left arm, his breath pouring out of his mouth as a fog in the icy cold. He doubted the bandages that had haphazardly been tied around his arm would save him from the cold.

"Don't worry Clump, I can handle him from here," Paul suddenly said as he walked up. As Clump held him against the pole, Paul twisted Leon's arms, which only sent another bolt of pain through the agent's arm, and snapped the handcuffs they'd been using to hold him around his wrists. Then, Paul grabbed the dog collar, which they had put on him when they realized they had to release his hands so he could eat, and snapped it around his throat. He leaned close to Leon and grinned. "Well now, regret not joining us now?"

Leon shoved his weight forward, making Paul jump away from him. "I regret not shooting you when we first found you," Leon snarled darkly. Paul glared at him before pulling something from near Leon and throwing it at his feet. It was a ragged old blanket, Leon realized. Paul stood and walked away with Clump following him. As soon as he and Clump were gone, he let his chin fall to his chest in exhaustion. His arm was numb.

_I'll get the blanket later… _he told himself.

"Leon," a weak voice suddenly whispered. His head snapped up and there she was, stepping from the shadows with the grace of a deadly feline.

_No… She… God… She's…she's a sight for sore eyes, _he thought to himself. He wanted to be upset that she was here, that she could get killed or worse, but he couldn't. He was just too happy to see a friendly face, especially when the face was so lovely and the eyes in the face were so loving.

"Christ Leon," she whispered, kneeling next to his left side. "I… Oh God, I saw what they did to you." She gently took his face in her hands, tears building in her emerald eyes.

That knowledge hurt. He didn't want her to see that. They leaned into each other, resting their foreheads together and the collar strained against Leon's throat, nearly choking him.

"I'll get you out of here," Ada suddenly breathed and they pulled apart. Leon viciously shook his head and she gave him a confused look.

"You can't… Alone you won't be able to do anything," he explained gently. He knew she was good. But even she couldn't take on every single cannibal-arsonist in D.C. Especially not with a monster like Clump with them. Man or not, Ada just didn't have the ability to bring him down without some kind of cannon.

_Or Sherry's Desert Eagle at least…_

"Then what do you expect me to do? I won't leave you here for…this to happen again," Ada said, her eyes bitter. He gave her a weak smile.

"Go get help. I'll last," he said, adamant about her leaving. She shook her head again, adamant about not leaving. "Ada please. I can't lose you. And if you stay… If you stay you'll die… You saw that thing… The man… He's strong enough to hold me still with one hand… I don't want to know what he could do to you."

"I won't leave you."

"They'll do much worse to you than what they're doing to me," he snapped finally. The look on her face made his heart hurt but he would not let her sacrifice herself for him. Not again. Especially not when it wasn't really a sacrifice. They wouldn't kill her. Not for a while at least.

She looked down before moving closer and snuggling against his side, her face pressed to his throat below the collar. Tears streamed down her cheeks and soaked his shirt and her hand rested above the shoddy bandages on his wounded arm. His arm throbbed at the gentle touch but her cool skin helped his fevered flesh.

"I'll come back every night," she finally said. "I'm not leaving you here alone. Sherry will send help after two days. They'll get you help. But I'm not leaving. Remember, I could stay hidden from your well trained eyes for six years. I can stay hidden from a bunch of moronic cannibals who like to start fires," she promised.

He didn't want her to stay but he knew it was pointless to try and convince her to leave. She pulled away and brushed the tears from her cheeks before she leaned down and kissed him. He didn't want the kiss to ever end. And when she pulled away from him, he couldn't help but feel disappointment burn in his chest.

"I'll be back tomorrow night or whenever they're not looking. I love you, Leon," she whispered, pulling the blanket up over him and wrapping it around his shoulders. He knew he was going to have to get the blanket off of his chest in the morning, so it looked like he'd only barely gotten the blanket to cover his legs. She stood.

He gave her another weak smile and breathed, "I love you too, Ada."

And with one final smile, and tears in her eyes, she disappeared back into the shadows.

A/N: I wasn't going to post this up today, since it's not a very good Valentine's Day chapter, but a certain somebody (you know who you are) made me so...be depressed... God knows why I put Leon through so much hell...


	6. Chapter 6

The Agent's Blade

---The Bunker, February 5th---

Sherry paced the President's stage over and over, her fingers clenching furiously as she thought about how long it had been since she'd last seen, or even heard from Leon and Ada.

The soldiers had gotten her inside and hadn't let her leave. They'd locked all three of their new additions to the Bunker inside and refused to let them out. Lenore was okay with that. Angela was furious. Sherry was sheathing.

She'd nearly attacked a Marine when he'd asked her if she wanted anything but instead she'd slammed her fist through the wall and, fueled by the hatred and anger within, her G-Virus enhanced body allowed her to drive her hand through the wall, all the way up to her elbow. The soldiers wouldn't speak to her since.

"Sherry, I understand that you're upset," Claire started. Sherry stopped pacing and stared down at her with blazing eyes. The President, who stood on the stage with her, was watching the scene quietly.

"What? How do you understand that I'm upset? I mean, you go through and lose people or let them die without a second thought. Why would you be upset if Leon and Ada are gone?" Sherry snarled. She hadn't meant to be so cold but she couldn't help herself.

"What? Let people die?" Claire asked, her eyes wide and haunted.

"Yes, that's right. The guy you let die on Rockfort Island. Don't give me that bullshit that there was nothing you could do. There's always something you could do," Sherry barked at her.

"Shut the fuck up!" Claire screamed at her. If everybody hadn't been listening before, they sure as hell were now. "You don't know what it's like-"

"Don't you dare say that I don't know what it's like!" Sherry shouted back furiously. Ark walked up, his hands up in an attempt to cool them down. "I lost my parents! You may have lost some kid that you randomly met on an island but I lost my parents! Two people who paid no more attention to me than one would a weed in their backyard! Until Raccoon City's ultimate downfall of course. Then it was all about saving me."

Sherry lowered her head, hating the burning sensation in her eyes. She wouldn't cry anymore. She hadn't cried for her parents since they'd died. She wouldn't cry. She refused to cry.

Suddenly, a male hand rested on her shoulder and she turned to face the President. The man looked at her with no pity, no pride, nothing. He just looked at her. "I want to talk to you. Alone."

She could only nod weakly while listening to Claire crying.

---

Angela was shocked, to say the least, at the sudden shouting fest. She'd never heard the somewhat calm teen scream. Sure, yell. But not scream. And the fact that she'd made Claire burst into tears had Angela shocked as well.

"What was that all about?" Lott, Ark's son, asked as he and Vivian walked up. Angela looked at him for a second, wondering how anybody had not heard exactly what Sherry had said. They'd been pretty loud.

"I wish Leon and Ada were here," Rani suddenly said. "Sherry's always happy when Leon's around…"

"Why do you want Sherry to be happy and not Claire?" Angela asked, more than confused. Rani looked over at Angela.

"Because Sherry and I both lost our parents," Rani stated. "We were both young when we lost our parents. And so did Claire, I know. But Claire had her brother. Sherry and I…we had nobody…"

"I had somebody," Sherry suddenly said, walking up. Her steel-blue eyes were rimmed with red veins but she held herself composed. "And so did you. But… You lost your aunt… And I've apparently lost Leon too."

"That's why I wished he was here," Rani admitted, looking up at the blonde. Sherry looked behind her, at the President who stood near his podium, and sighed. "Does he want to talk to you?" Rani asked. Angela looked at the young teen quietly. Why would the President want to talk to her?

"Yeah," Sherry said. "I don't know what for though, so don't ask."

She walked back over to the President, her head held low, and Angela looked back at Lott and his girlfriend. Vivian stared at the teenager as well, her eyes curious. Lott wasn't really paying attention to the blonde. Only Rani held any sympathy in her light brown eyes.

_Why are we all so cold hearted? _Angela wondered.

---Washington D.C., February 5th---

The man stopped struggling after about five minutes, his voice muffled by the piece of cloth in his mouth. After all, she couldn't let him shout and alert the others. The assassin felt her lips curve upwards in an empty smile and she walked away as the zombies continued to rip and tear at their meal.

_Eye for an eye, _she silently told the man. _After what you did to him, I'll do ten times worse back._

Oh, how she hated the people who kept her love captive. She watched every day as they guarded him, barely fed him, and kicked him like he was a broken dog. But for every kick, for every insult, she remembered certain facial features. She remembered certain aspects about the people.

Like the one she'd just dragged to the zombies. He'd delivered an especially violent kick to her love's ribs. She knew how hard it was for him to draw a breath now and that night, after the kick, she'd lifted up his shirt and saw the nasty bruise there. So, she'd marked down his facial features. He was one with a nasty scar across his forehead and a thick blood soaked beard. She'd found him, lured him out of the camp with her looks, and knocked him out. Luckily, he and all of the others were extremely thin so she'd had no trouble dragging his unconscious body to the zombies.

Speaking of zombies, somehow the cannibals had managed to corral the zombies in another intersection. The zombies were trapped with cars and barbed wire and other crude ways of trapping the undead. She guessed that the inedible remains of their human victims went to the zombies.

_I'll be damned… No, I'll kiss Wesker's shoes before I let them do that to him, _she told herself, not for the first time, as she walked back to her building.

She'd taken refuge in a building right next to him. She could watch over him, close enough to be able to hang upside down and touch the people who treated him like that broken dog. Every night, for the last three days, she'd crawled out of the building and held him while he slept. She'd clean the cuts and bruises he'd get and as soon as she was sure he was asleep, she'd drape his blanket across him and leave. Luckily, they'd tied him up in an alleyway that didn't get all of the cold that the main streets did. She had to thank them for that much, at least.

_How many was that… Eight? Nine? Well, I have at least one more tonight. What shall I do to him? _she wondered as she walked. She had at least two more hours of darkness.

Movement near her made her freeze and she snapped around to face the incoming threat. But the animal that bound forward from behind the trash cans was no enemy. She smiled as the wolf-dog trotted up to her.

One thing D.C. had in plethora was animals. Cats, dogs, snakes, spiders, birds and many other beasts roamed the streets. They survived easier than any human, eating out of trash and whatever food they could find. This particular dog, a Kunming wolf-dog, had made a friend out of her.

"How are you doing today, my handsome friend?" she purred, kneeling down to scratch his head. He licked her face excitedly and she scratched his head playfully. She'd always been fond of dogs, especially big ones. They were good companions and their ears, more sensitive then hers, had come in handy the last couple nights. And the animal before her was very well trained, having taken down three cannibals who were threatening him with the attitude of a K-9 dog for the police.

He also knew not to bark. He made a soft whimpering noise and pushed his cold nose against her throat. He was hungry. She sighed sadly. One thing that hadn't come in plethora. Food.

"I'm sorry friend," she breathed. "I don't have any…" He whimpered but didn't bother her for more food. "Now, go on your way. I have one last person to deal with. I'll see you later today, alright?"

He grumbled, wagged his tail, and raced off into the night. He'd also saved her life one night. A cannibal had been behind her and he'd broken the man's throat. That was how she'd met the ferocious canine and how she'd killed the first couple cannibals. She'd let the dog handle them before heading off for home. Since then, she'd come up with several ways to murder those who tortured her love.

Especially after she'd found out exactly what they'd done to his arm.

---

Leon lifted his head when he heard the sound of heavy footsteps on the ground and looked at Clump as he walked over. The monster man, who had the intelligence of a child, set a plate before him and walked closer. He reeked of body odor and decaying flesh but those were two things Leon had already grown accustomed too. Clump freed the agent's arms and he grabbed the plate with his right hand.. Carrots. Joy.

"What, no…change these days?" Leon scoffed. Clump stared at him with his beady eyes and the agent regretted speaking. Though Clump was rather stupid, he hadn't taken a particular liking to Leon. The agent's bitter humor didn't make the huge man-child laugh. Instead, Leon's jokes pissed him off.

Clump turned and walked away, leaving Leon in relative silence. The agent cringed as his left arm ached and throbbed. Ada's cool hands seemed to be the only thing to help his ruined arm and she wasn't there right then. Suddenly, the sound of boots hitting the ground caught his attention. Scratch that.

"Carrots again?" Ada teased as she walked over to him. She sat next to him and he handed her the plate. "Do they have anything else?" He cringed at the idea and she made a soft noise. "Sorry… Um…never mind…"

"It's okay… It's just…weird…you know?" She gave him a confused look. "To think that they ate me…" She gave him a weak smile and nodded her head. She gently rested her head on his shoulder, careful to not put any weight on it. She always sat on his left so just in case somebody peeked out of the building the cannibals used to live in, they wouldn't see her, since the building was to his right. Her left hand rested above the terrible bandages and his fevered skin seemed to soak up her cool touch.

She suddenly shook her head and Leon looked at her in confusion. "I was wrong… Sherry didn't get help," she explained as if she knew he was looking at her. "She was going to…"

"If they made it to the Bunker…there's a chance nobody will let them out to get to us," he tried. He didn't have any hope anymore. They'd broken that out of him once they'd told him exactly what they'd done to his arm. But he wanted Ada to continue to have hope for them both.

"…Sherry's headstrong… She'll bring help," she promised. Suddenly, noise echoed out of the building and she leapt to her feet like a cat. She gave Leon a smile, which he returned weakly, and set the plate next to him. "I'll be back as soon as I can, okay?" He nodded. She knelt down and quickly kissed him before standing and disappearing into the shadows again. The alley was once again dreary and evil.

"What the fuck do you mean they're disappearing?" Paul, Leon's worst torturer, shrieked as he and the leader of the entire thing stormed out of the building. One of the few women, hairless and rather hideous, followed them shyly.

"They are! At least ten people have disappeared!" she cried in response. The leader, Ugly, shot her a look with something that looked like humor on his face.

"You wouldn't have told us if you didn't know something, Danielle," he said. "So, out with it. Or did you just want to look at Agent Kennedy's pretty face?" She was indeed staring at the wounded agent and Leon only imagined that his charms might work on her, if she was alone. But with Ugly and Paul at her side, he knew he had no choice.

"I…I saw a woman the other day…" Leon's heart stopped. "She was….really pretty. Definitely not one of us. And she had a gun." Ugly looked at Leon, who kept a stoic face and stared up at him.

"Perhaps one of your lovely female friends, Leon? What did she look like?" Ugly asked. Leon had no doubt that Paul had gone in detail about what Ada, Sherry, and Angela looked like.

"I didn't really get to see her face. It was too dark. But she had black hair," Danielle said. "Short, not long."

_Son of a… Dammit Ada… How the hell did they catch her? _he wondered bitterly. Probably a moment of luck.

"Hm… Who do we know who has short black hair, Leon?" Ugly asked. Paul grinned and Leon had to resist the urge to rip the collar off his throat. He knew that the second he reached for the collar, they'd bring their weapons down on him. Not that it mattered though. The collar also had a padlock on it and there was no breaking that off. But he'd be damned before he let them lay a hand on Ada. He'd make the leather collar break before he let them harm Ada.

"How should I know?" Leon questioned. Ugly smiled at him darkly before walking back inside. Paul frowned suddenly and followed Ugly, leaving Danielle outside. He didn't feel like trying to trick her into letting him go. Not with the threat that her 'friends' would go after Ada thanks to her information.

---The Bunker, February 5th---

"You wanted to talk to me?" Sherry asked, walking over to the President. They were in a room behind his stage, away from everybody else. He nodded his head as she stopped next to him.

"I want to help you save Leon and Ada," he said. She stared at him in disbelief. "And I know that at least a couple of the Marines and the Secret Service and even some of the civilians want to help as well. A small army to save them. Sounds decent."

"Why? Aren't you the one putting the halt on going to help them?" she asked in confusion. He shook his head, a sad smile graving his lips.

"God no… That would be all of the other politicians. And my wife. And a lot of the politicians. They don't think our soldiers should help a couple of agents, even if they helped all of us," the President replied. Sherry lowered her gaze sadly. "But I want to help them. And I'm willing to help you. And we can leave by night to avoid stares. But I need you to rally up those that want to help. Just don't talk to the politicians or my wife."

"And the civilians that don't want to help them?" Sherry asked. "How do I avoid them?"

"I was going to suggest speaking to Rani and Lily. They're around the murals all the time. They'd hear who does and who doesn't like Leon and Ada. How's that?" he asked. She nodded and suddenly stepped forward and hugged him.

"Thank you," she said. He hugged her back and nodded his head.

"I owe them both so much… The least I can do is help them."

---

Ashley knew her father's plan. They'd come up with it together. So, when Sherry came out of the room, looking happier than ever, she stopped the younger woman. The teen gave her a questioning look.

"I'll help you ask around, if you want," Ashley offered. Sherry raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I helped my dad come up with the plan of saving Leon and Ada. I'll help you ask around. That way, we'll get done by tonight."

"Are we packing supplies?" Sherry asked.

"I've already got two Marines and four Secret Service doing that," Ashley replied. Sherry grinned, which made her look like a teenager instead of the adult she typically looked like.

"Thank you," Sherry said.

Ashley shrugged and said, "I owe Leon my life. Ada too."

"That's something I'll have to ask about, at another time," Sherry promised before walking off to the mural.

---

Rani looked up when Sherry set a hand on her shoulder. She gazed curiously up into the older girl's face as Sherry asked, "Can you tell me who does and who doesn't want Leon and Ada to be saved?"

Rani didn't even bother to ask. She just nodded and started pointing them out.

---Washington D.C., February 5th---

"You've got an admirer, handsome," Ada purred as she sat down next to him. It was still gloomy out, even though Leon guessed it was daytime. She sometimes dared to visit him during the day, almost like she was challenging the cannibals.

"I noticed," Leon mumbled. Since the encounter with Ugly, Paul, and Danielle, the woman had been bringing him his food instead of Clump. Which he didn't really mind because she was much more gently.

"She'd just better keep her hands away from you," Ada growled suddenly. He looked over at her in shock. She looked back at him and he saw the sorrow in her eyes. She'd been there when they'd told him what exactly had been done to his arm.

_All of the muscle torn from the bone… Pieces of just skin and tissue torn away too. My arm's basically useless… And yet they didn't bother with the rest of the muscle… Assholes…_

"Don't worry… I won't let her," he promised. She leaned against him, nuzzling his neck even with the thick collar around his neck. His hands were bound behind his back again otherwise he'd take her hand in his.

Three days he'd been in their care. Three days and they had yet to use him for food again. He knew they hadn't taken that much from his arm. The bandages weren't covering that much of his bicep.

"I'll be back soon, Leon," Ada finally whispered, planting a kiss on his cheek. "I'll try and find you something better than carrots to eat." He smiled at her and she moved away, disappearing again. Danielle walked out of the building a few minutes later.

"They won't let me feed you out of fear I might give you more than you deserve," she said, sitting down next to him. Leon wanted to laugh. More than he deserved? What happened to fattening up the meal?

"I can do without," Leon pointed out. Agents were, after all, trained to go without food for days. Torturers typically used hunger to their advantage so agents were taught to go without food.

"I know…but it's not really fair."

_Not fair?! But it's fair for them to carve my arm like a roast turkey at Thanksgiving?! It's fair for them to have horrible plans for Ada or Sherry or Angela?! It's fair for them to catch the city on fire without a second thought for those still alive?! _

He didn't ask any of the questions he was shouting in his brain but he did look away. He didn't want to look at her. She was a cannibal too. Had she eaten any of his arm?

_Sounds so weird… _he thought to himself. But he found himself really wanting to ask that question. He remained silent though. He didn't want to piss off the one person who might end up freeing him.

"Well, I better go. Splicer doesn't like when people talk to you. He thinks you'll…fuck over our minds I guess," she said, starting to stand. Leon looked up at her in confusion.

"Splicer?" he asked. She nodded.

"The one who Paul follows like a dog. Our leader." She started to walk away but Leon had one last thing he had to ask.

"How do you guys know about me?" he asked. She turned to face him. "Splicer…whatever his name is…He knew I was government."

"I think Paul picked your pocket," she explained. "He's really good at that."

_Of course… Then…shit they have my wallet?_

"Danielle?" he asked as she reached for the door handle. She turned back to him, a questioning look on her face. "Can you… Can you get my wallet for me? You can take everything out of it…but there's a picture in there I really want. Can you get it for me?"

Her eyes softened and she nodded her head. "Yeah, I can. I don't think Splicer will care anyway."

He nodded his thanks and she entered the building. Nearby, a dog howled and several others joined in. Birds cried in the buildings above and rats scurried over the sidewalk. But all he cared about was the woman hiding in the building next to him. He could hear her crying. And he knew it was a certain memory, all too fresh in his own mind, that was making her cry.

_Ada… God I wish you hadn't seen that babe..._


	7. Chapter 7

The Agent's Blade

---Washington D.C., February 6th---

Ada covered her ears with her hands and rested her chin on her knees. The sounds of the cannibals attacking Leon with utmost brutality still tried to get past her fingers but she kept them clamped down tight. She cringed, however, when something hit the building she hid in hard enough to make it quiver.

She longed to get her fingers around the necks of Leon's torturers/captors. She longed to feed some of them to the zombies, other to the animals, others to their own people, and finally she wanted to use her special torture techniques on a couple. Paul, the main guy that the woman had called Splicer, probably even Clump. She would love to shove wood under their fingers nails. That was always one that she knew that even she, with all of her abilities to escape pain, wouldn't have been able to take very well.

_Too bad we don't have any bamboo here, _she thought to herself bitterly, biting her lip as something hit the building again. She'd love to get her hands on some bamboo. Wood under the fingernails was nasty. Bamboo was just…

"Enough!"

The cry met her ears, even through her clamped fingers, and she moved closer to the window. She'd set up a mirror so she could look out the window without having to poke her head out of it.

Leon was on his knees, his hands resting on the ground. His shirt, even though it was a dull black color, was glistening with blood. The sun, which had finally made its way completely out of behind the clouds, covered the cannibals with a heavenly light. Ada wished the sun would go away.

"They get rougher and rougher every day. Now…Fatso wouldn't like that, would he?" Splicer asked, walking over to Leon. Ada tensed up, her right hand dropping to the Desert Eagle on her thigh. She'd stolen the monstrous handgun from one of the cannibals she'd killed. She had yet to use it though.

"Who?" Leon asked, his voice rough with pain. She admired that about him. He was taking everything in stride. He hadn't broken down, he hadn't cried out with pain, he hadn't begged for his life. And yet they treated him like he had broken down. Like he cowered from them every time they came out to beat him. No, Leon actually made snide comments every time they came out of their building.

"Fatso," Paul replied, delivering a nasty kick to Leon's side. The agent dropped to the concrete like a rock and Ada had to bite her lip hard enough to split it open to keep herself from taking the gun out.

"No shit, I heard that," Leon coughed out, lifting himself onto his knees again. Ada smiled weakly at his image. He was still Leon. And she doubted they'd ever be able to rip that out of him.

"He's our…boss, I guess you could say," Splicer said, waving Paul away. "He gave us jobs and we give him food."

"Jobs? What the hell are you talking about? Do you guys even realize what's happened all over the world?" Leon barked furiously. The virus, which had caused the cannibal arsonists, still made Ada and Leon upset. After all, it had torn their lives from the roots and thrown them into a new life. And although she'd never minded that that new life included Leon, she'd never forgiven the virus for all that it had done to them.

"Well, we kinda went back to our farming days, I suppose you could say," Splicer offered. "We have a corral full of zombies. You should've seen it. We led the zombies into the fucking thing like they were bulls at that bull run thing. Three people caught the attention of nearly eighty undead. Amazing. Of course, we lost Danielle's brother and boyfriend but, oh well." He shrugged at the end of the sentence and Ada noticed that Leon looked over at Danielle, who stood to his left. She avoided looking at him.

"Okay… And? What does a corral full of zombies do for you?" Leon asked as he looked at Splicer again.

"Not much. We just had fun catching them. Okay, we also hunt. People, of course but…hunt nonetheless. We also build things. And all Fatso asks for in return is the biggest portion of our meals. Which isn't that bad."

"But what does he do for you?" Leon asked, more than confused. Ada felt his confusion, as she had no idea what the hell this Fatso did for them either. But Splicer's grin made her stomach churn uneasily.

"Well, for one, he tells us how to carve up a person without killing them. And he gets us people too. People from the White House for a little while. Then others. He's good at tricking people. He teaches us how to hunt ourselves. Teaches us how to build things. It's all fair."

"People from the White House?" Leon asked.

"Yeah. The President's bodyguards were searching the city for a while. He got them to come over to him, saying he had a bunch of people who needed help. We got three healthy Secret Service agents for dinner that week."

Leon visibly cringed and Ada felt her fingers grip the Desert Eagle with a vicious intent. She wanted to kill them. She wanted to shoot them. She wanted to make them scream.

_…What…What's wrong with me? This is the way I was… Before I met Leon… What's going on with me? _she asked herself. But something in her, like that little voice within one's mind, snarled, _this is what you need to become again. Leon needs the assassin back. Not the coward. Take them out. They're easy shots._

She knew that, with quick fingers and a deadly aim, she could take them out. But Clump stood nearby and she'd seen, several times, how fast the huge man-child could move. He'd damn near crushed Leon's throat. And he was mean. Just a few hours ago, when they'd first been out there for their 'kick the man while he's down' party, he'd dug his thumb into Leon's ruined arm. The agent hadn't screamed but she'd known he'd been damn close. And she'd been about to scream for him but they'd released him before she could.

"Fatso would like to meet you. In fact, I believe he has a proposition for you. So, come along doggie," Splicer said. He'd taken to calling Leon that after realizing he could make the agent follow him with the collar around his neck.

_Take them out… Bullet through the brain… Brains everywhere… Leon freed…_

---The Bunker, February 6th---

"Leon was going to this theater to start a fire," Sherry explained, pointing to a building on the map the President had pulled out. Their plan was working so far and Sherry had grabbed seven Secret Service agents, ten Marines, and six civilians to help them save Leon and Ada…wherever they were.

"A fire?" the CO of the Marines, Gerry, asked.

"Leon's theory was that if they could start a fire, the arsonists would believe somebody was invading their territory and they'd go attack him while the rest of us ran to the White House," Angela explained softly. Gerry looked impressed for a moment and nodded.

"Not a bad plan. So, the question is, what went wrong?" he asked. Sherry nodded her head bitterly.

"That's what we were wondering. We had another man with us, Darius. He offered to help Leon, said he was a pyromaniac as a kid," Sherry started to explain.

"He tricked Leon?" Ark asked. "Or is that just the best possibility?"

"Well, the man was a coward. Every time we'd come across a zombie, he'd duck behind one of us," Angela explained. "It doesn't make sense that he would all of a sudden buck up and want to endanger his life. Not to mention the fact that he just happened to be a pyromaniac as a kid? Arsonists are roaming the city. Wouldn't he want to be a part of them?"  
Everybody surrounding the table the President had set out nodded slowly. Their eyes landed back on the map and several somber looks flickered across their faces. A civilian, however, suddenly pointed to an intersection on the map.

"I was walking past this area to get to the White House," she started, "when all of a sudden I hear these zombies and I start to panic. But I keep walking because it was the only way to get here and I notice the zombies are like….corralled. If anybody did it, it would be those arsonists. And if they're holding Leon prisoner, it would be somewhere close to there, right?"

Everybody seemed to think her idea over and Sherry nodded. "Yeah… But why would arsonists coral zombies?" she asked.

"God knows. They're weird," Ark pointed out. Sherry laughed gently. "Alright. We should try here first."

"No," the President suddenly said. "That should be our second stop. We'll check the theater first."

"Why?" Gerry asked.

"There's a chance that things might not have gone wrong and that they were surrounded by the undead and that Leon and this Darius are hiding in there. True, Ada would help them, but the undead numbers can become overwhelming. That might've stopped her from doing anything."

More nods. But Sherry frowned. "I think we should split into groups then," she said. "Not only will we cover more ground but we can check both theories at the same time."

Everybody mumbled their agreement and Ark planted his hand on the table with a loud noise. "It's settled then. We'll move out tomorrow afternoon, when the light's the best, and we'll break into groups. Sleep tight everybody. Tomorrow's a big day."

The group broke up and Sherry walked away, praying that tomorrow it wouldn't be too late to save Leon and Ada. If it wasn't already too late.

---Washington D.C., February 6th---

Splicer half dragged Leon through the extensive halls of the building until they got to a staircase. Then, he turned and grabbed Leon's collar, forcing the younger man to look him in the face. Leon wanted to gag because of his terrible breath but he remained stoic instead.

"Don't look Fatso in the eyes, bow to him, all that good stuff. He's the king around here. And you're just the dog. More like cow. Don't know why we'd bring a cow to see a king but you know. I'm not going to question Fatso," Splicer said, tightening the collar around Leon's neck. The agent struggled to draw a breath but didn't bother saying anything.

Splicer forced Leon up the stairs before him. They walked up at least three stories, all the while Leon was thinking about a way to escape. His hands weren't bound behind his back and the collar was the only thing holding him captive. Well, that and his ruined left arm. He could move it. But not by much. In fact, he could barely move his fingers.

_Good thing it was my left arm… Would've been ruined if it was my right…_

They finally stopped after what seemed like an hour of walking and Splicer knocked on the door over Leon's shoulder. Leon breathed in the scent of decaying bodies and other things from both the room in front of him and Splicer behind him.

"Enter," a voice cooed. Leon frowned. The voice was…pretty to say the least. It was like that voice of the sugary sweet king who was really malicious but unlike those in movies, this one was a bit deeper. It almost seemed to calm the agent but his heart, and an image of Ada, forced that calm away.

Splicer shoved Leon into the room and he nearly backpedaled into the man because of the sickly sweet smell. Sitting behind a desk like an oversized, and very pale, balloon was a huge man. He was easily fatter than Clump and half of Clump's height. He wore tiny glasses perched on his nose and what looked like furs surrounded him like a cape. Leon couldn't really tell what his shirt looked like.

The agent forced himself to stare at the grotesque man because in the corner of his eyes he could see young women tied to the support beams of the buildings. His heart went out to them but all he could think about was Ada. Was this what would happen to her if she got caught?

_I'll never let that happen. Never, _he told himself darkly.

"Ah, so you're the agent," Fatso said, smiling at Leon. His teeth gleamed white in the dull lights from the ceiling. Leon noticed that the curtains were drawn and he wasn't certain he wanted to know why. "You failed to mention he was so…well built."

"Sorry," Splicer mumbled. Leon almost heard the cowardice in the older man's voice and he wanted to kill him. He wanted to imbed his knife, wherever it was, into his throat. "I forgot."

"Hm… At least he'll last longer than the others," Fatso pointed out, his voice soft and comforting. Leon saw the struggling women stop struggling and turn their attention to the fat man. "My name is Bacchus and-"

"Roman God of wine," Leon mumbled instinctively. Fatso, or Bacchus, looked upset for an instant and Splicer grabbed his left arm. Leon clenched his jaw and his legs went out, forcing him to collapse to his knees. But then Fatso, since Leon refused to compare this asshole to a God, laughed.

"Impressive! You know your mythology. Stand, agent," Fatso ordered. Leon used his right hand to push off from the ground and stood on his wobbling legs. His arm was bleeding again and the red liquid trailed down his arm slowly.

"What do you want with me?" Leon snarled, unable to make himself cower down to the fat lard. Splicer smacked him on the back of the head and Leon had to react. Without really thinking, he twisted around and slammed his elbow into Splicer's throat. The man, who acted like he was a god, collapsed to his knees.

"Impressive!" Fatso cried, clapping like a child who'd gotten a prize. "Leave him be, Splicer. In fact, leave. I want to talk to Agent Kennedy alone." Splicer grumbled but left the room, leaving the agent with the balloon of a man. "Agent Kennedy… Leon, right? I'll call you Leon."

_Call me Agent Kennedy asshole… _

"Splicer and Paul have both told me about the women you traveled with. Now, as you can see, I'm not short of women," he said, waving his hands around. Leon felt his fury building up again.

_How fast could I get to that desk? Could I take him out before he screamed?_

"But we always like having a few spares around. Especially if what Paul said was right and the Asian is as pretty as he said," Fatso continued. Oh, how Leon longed to kill the man.

"She's Eurasian," Leon snarled angrily. Fatso raised an eyebrow. "You and your idiot brigade keep calling her Asian. She's Eurasian."

"Idiot brigade? You're not very nice," Fatso said, shaking his large head. "Anyway… I was thinking… How about you join us and you can keep you women. We would just use them-"

A blade imbedded itself into Fatso's chair, right next to his head. Leon cringed at how off his aim was but it had gotten Fatso's attention. The blade, which Ada had given him for self-defense against the assholes who kicked him, was only about four inches long.

The door smashed open and Splicer grabbed Leon, forcing him to the ground. Leon placed his right hand against the ground, trying to push himself back up. But he couldn't.

"That wasn't very nice," Fatso cried, sounding offended.

"What do you want me to do?" Splicer asked. Leon struggled against his grip.

"I'm hungry again," was all Fatso replied.

---The Bunker, February 6th---

Sherry was packing a backpack full of food alongside of Ashley and Ark when Claire came over. Her hands were clasped in front of her but Sherry refused to look up. And so did Ark. Ashley realized that her two comrades weren't going to great Claire so she looked up.

"I was… I heard about…the trip to save Leon and Ada. I… Can I come?" she asked gently. Sherry lifted her head and glared at the redhead.

Claire seemed to back off under her angry gaze. But then Sherry imagined Leon being surrounded by dark shadows, as her dream loved to portray whoever had the agent, and she lowered her angry gaze.

"We need all the help we can get," Sherry replied gently. "You can come."

"Really?" Ark breathed. "I know we need the help but why her?"

"Ark…" Claire whimpered, his anger obviously confusing her. The brown haired man refused to meet Claire's gaze however, only staring at Sherry. The teen lowered her own gaze from his.

"We need all of the help, Ark," she replied. "We don't know who, or what, has Leon and Ada. And we need whoever's willing to help there to help us. Otherwise… We might just be marching to a failed cause."

Ark lowered his head but it was obvious he was still upset by Sherry's choice. Claire knelt down and joined in packing their backpacks.

---Washington D.C., February 6th---

They had to drag Leon back to the pole that night. His shirt was in tatters and she knew exactly what they'd done. The two men tied Leon down and one of them left right away. The other stayed and spoke to Leon. Something about being an idiot. And Ada just couldn't help herself.

She stepped out of the window and onto the balcony before dropping to the ground. The man heard her boots hit the concrete and turned, glaring at her as she walked out of the shadows. She made sure to walk in a particular way and walked closer, holding her hand behind her back.

"Hey," she breathed, a false smile flickering across her lips. Leon didn't even lift his head. And that hurt. The man, however, instantly started for her. When he was close enough, Ada grabbed the eight inch blade on her belt and slid it out. With deft movements, she brought her arm up faster than he could react and imbedded the blade into his skull. Hot blood spilled onto her hand as she ripped the blade free and shoved it back into its makeshift sheath on her belt.

She wiped her hand off on her pants and instantly went to Leon's side as the corpse twitched. She gently lifted Leon's head and stared into his pale eyes. He looked pained and so tired. So very tired.

"Leon…" she whispered.

He gave her a false smile and mumbled, "I've been through…worse…" It sounded like it hurt to even speak. She gently touched the new bandages around his chest and took her hand away as he flinched.

"I have to get you out of here," she breathed. "You can't keep going through this. They'll kill you."

He shook his head and mumbled, "I won't let them get you, Ada."

"They won't," she promised, still holding his head. Again he shook his head.

"I saw….what…they did to…the girls they caught… I won't…take the chance of that…happening…to you," he replied, sounding out of breath as he finished his sentence. His eyes were closed with exhaustion. She ran her right hand through his hair, which was soaked with blood and sweat, hoping to comfort him. Tears streamed down her face and he gently said, "Don't cry… Please…" She untangled her hand from his hair, very gently, and wiped the tears away.

"I… I can't let them keep doing this to you, Leon," she whispered. He opened his eyes and the way he looked at her broke her heart. But she wouldn't let him be hurt anyway. She gently kissed him, hoping that the touch explained why she was going to hand herself over to release him. He kissed her back and she just knew that his way of begging her not to go. But she pulled away and whispered, "I love you Leon… But I'm not going to let this continue." She took her hand away from his face and stood. He looked up at her and she felt her heart break as she noticed the tears in his eyes.

She looked away from him and took a step closer to the building. He mumbled her name and she had to make herself look at the building. She could almost feel the assassin in her waking up again, almost like a cat after bathing in the sun. Like it hadn't been seven years since she was truly the assassin she'd once been.

She whistled shrilly and ignored Leon growled out a curse word. He knew what she was doing. But it was too late. In a minute, Splicer was outside, looking around in confusion. The whistle was a call from help. She'd heard that a couple days ago from one of her many victims.

"Well, well, well," Splicer said, looking her over hungrily. Ada felt an empty smile grace her lips.

_Yes… We'll see who breaks who…_

In a second, several men were outside and one of them brought chains. They all looked her over as the one with the chains bound her hands in front of her and dragged her into the building. The last thing she heard was Leon struggling to get free.

_Don't worry handsome… I'm not the one that's going to lose. I'll make them scream. I promise that._


	8. Chapter 8

The Agent's Blade

---The Bunker, February 6th---

"What're they planning?"

"They're going after Leon and Ada. They plan on taking quite a few soldiers and Secret Service agents."

"How long do they plan on looking."

"Don't know. It wasn't something they started talking about."

"Hm… Well, let them find those two. They might even help us."

"As in you and me? Not likely."

"No…not you and me. Us, the whole group. We'll need all the guns we can get."

"Oh, I see. Yeah… But they'll be the hardest to stop if anybody rebels against us or our plans."

"Ha… That's what poison is for."

"You think you can trick an assassin into drinking poison?"

"What did I tell you? The cannibals are keeping him prisoner and she's giving him all of her food. She's starving. I have no doubt she'll drink the poison."

"I do. I've seen her in action…"

"really? You've seen her in action with Leon following her like the ever loyal puppy?"

"…No…"

"There you go. She's more trusting with her dog at her side. I know it."

"Won't she-"

"Recognize me? What can she say that everybody doesn't already know?"

---Washington D.C., February 6th---

Ada stood before Fatso like a cat prepared to spring. They didn't see the way she tensed up and they didn't notice how she'd already freed her slender wrists from their ropes. They'd tied them quickly around her wrists as they were leading her to Fatso and as soon as she was in the room, she'd untied the ropes.

"Well now, Paul wasn't kidding," Fatso said, examining Ada like a cow about to go to slaughter. She imagined his brain, swollen and useless from years of drinking, was trying to mark out the areas on her body like one would do with a cow. She kept shifting her weight, as if she was nervous, to prevent him from doing such. "Now, what is a beautiful woman like you, doing here? You were free to go to the White House. And yes you didn't. Why?"

"Are you that stupid?" Ada questioned. Everybody in the room gaped at her. Fatso's eyes narrowed until they were slits in his face. "Why is Leon taking all of the hell you guys are offering? For me, yes? Why am I willing to sacrifice myself to you morons? For him."

"How heroic. But there's no prize for being a hero here," Fatso said. "And for calling me stupid…" He trailed off as he motioned with one meaty hand for somebody to step closer to Ada. She raised one eyebrow and smiled emptily. They hadn't checked her belt.

The man got right next to her when she tore the knife from her belt and drove it into the man's throat. Blood rushed out of his neck and she tugged the blade back. It's stainless steel blade was covered in crimson that slowly slide off of it and onto the floor. Paul grabbed his gun but Fatso snarled at him.

"She's not to be killed!" he growled.

Ada laughed coldly and somebody grabbed her shoulder. She slammed her elbow into his sternum and dropped him like a rock. He collapsed, trying to regain his breath, and Ada grabbed his makeshift club from his back. She swung it around in lazy circles, watching as the crude spikes got closer and closer to the man's head.

"You threaten somebody you don't know. Leon's government. What do you think I am?" she asked, letting the club stop and hang from her hands. The spikes pressed to the man's back and he whimpered softly. The assassin let the club drop and its own weight drove the spikes into his back. He cried out and fell to the floor, unable to move.

_How feeble…our bodies are…_

"Why not stay with us?" Fatso asked. "As a guest! You could live here. Be part of the group. We get plenty of food."

Ada watched as two other men, only four had accompanied her to the room besides Paul and Splicer, and the two who had given Leon the most hell circled her like sharks. But even sharks had their weaknesses.

"Sorry. I'm no cannibal," Ada growled. She kicked the man who rushed at her from her right, her boot striking his nose and sending fragments of bone into his brain. He dropped next to the other two bodies.

_They're all coming from the right… Idiots…_

"We could find you food! Other than people!" Fatso tried. He was obviously desperate. Ada stared at him, as if she was thinking about his proposition, before a sly smile found its way onto her lips.

"Tell these three morons to leave the room. I want to talk to you. Alone," she ordered. Fatso nodded and waved his hand at them. The women in the room, who'd watched the fight without so much as a whimper, stared at Ada. "Are they tied to the support beams? Or are they just sitting there."

"Some of them are just sitting there. Why? We should talk," Fatso said, looking like an oversized and very greedy child. Ada looked at the women, all of which looked back at her. She motioned for them to stand.

About four of them on both sides could stand without many problems. The rest were all attached to the beams. Ada motioned for those who could to leave the room. They did as she ordered, soft sobs escaping their throats at the sudden freedom. Only one stayed and stared at Ada.

"I want to free them," she said, pointing to the trapped women when Ada gave her a confused look. The assassin nodded and moved towards Fatso's desk as the woman grabbed some keys from the edge of it and ran off to help the trapped women.

"What do you plan to do with Leon, if I join you?" she asked, her voice a sultry purr. She hadn't used her 'seductive' voice in some time. Ever since she'd been shot, she had no need to try and be seductive. But the voice was obviously working. Fatso shifted in his chair uncomfortably.

"We have to keep him. Whether or not he's your friend, my people need food," Fatso said, sounding as if that was the only option ever to exist. Ada's fingers gripped the combat knife even tighter than ever before.

"How did I know you were going to say that?" she questioned, sighing at the end. She lifted the blade and pressed it to the desk.

"I will not free him, knife or not," Fatso said. Ada's smile visibly chilled him and goose bumps ran up and down his arms.

"I know. I didn't plan on you freeing him. You know what they did to him? To his arm. I have yet to see his chest. But you know, right?" He nodded slowly, horror filling his eyes quickly. "You know how they basically skinned that area on his arm?" He nodded again. And then realization seemed to hit him and he tried to scream.

---The Bunker, February 6th---

Sherry lay down to get a few hours of sleep but found herself unable to even close her eyes. They stared up at the ceiling, tracing every bump and curve in the thick cement as her brain tried to come up with good reasons to leave at that moment instead of later. But it only came up with the fact that she had the worst fears in the world that something bad had already happened to them.

"You okay?" Ashley asked suddenly, standing near Sherry. The younger blonde looked over at the President's daughter and frowned deeply, wondering how she could ask a question like that. "Okay...sorry...stupid question, I know. I just…had nothing else to ask."

"Well, okay as in physically I'm fine. But mentally…not so much," Sherry replied, sitting up. Years of being the underdog had made her incredibly uncomfortable when people stood above her while she lay down. It only reminded her that she'd literally cowered at the hands of several people.

"They'll be fine," Ashley tried. "I know Leon. He did… I mean, there were times in Spain when I thought we were doomed because a chainsaw got close to him. And all I could imagine was that he was dead and I was doomed. But then he'd somehow get out of the way and just…protect me…and… I have complete faith that we'll find him perfectly fine. They probably just got stuck or something."

Sherry decided to not tell Ashley that that didn't truly comfort her.

---Washington D.C., February 6th---

About an hour later, Leon heard the furious shouts and when Splicer burst through the door, he knew something very bad was about to happen. His body was exhausted so badly he couldn't even move as Splicer made somebody free his arms and then basically drag him over to the man who'd caused Leon so much hell. They made him stand on his incredibly wobbly legs before Splicer.

"Your little bitch-"

Leon had enough energy to punch him. It wasn't an amazingly strong punch but it was enough to catch Splicer off guard. The man, however, rebounded by having Clump move forward and smash his fist into Leon's newly ruined chest. The agent was able to stop himself from yelping in pain. For the first time, Leon audibly reacted to the pain which was slowly crippling him. He imagined that Paul was jumping for joy inside.

"You stupid son of a bitch," Splicer growled.

Before he could continue, the door behind them burst open and the three men besides Splicer, Paul, and Clump bolted for it. Leon collapsed to his knees as the only thing supporting him ran for the door. Three rumbling cracks later and they crashed to the floor, their heads nothing more than empty shells for their newly destroyed brains. When they dropped, they revealed who'd attacked. Ada.

_She…looks different... _he thought to himself. However, when her emerald eyes found his, a look of horrified sorrow filled them and Ada was back.

She looked back up at Splicer and the other two, her fingers tight around the grip of the Desert Eagle. In her left hand was his USP. In the front of her belt was his combat knife. She looked scary, to say the least. As soon as her eyes moved over Splicer and Paul her eyes reverted to being dead serious, empty, almost like Ada had stepped out of the body and something cold and primal had stepped in. Something cold and primal and very scary.

"Hope you boys like dogs," she purred and something shot past Leon's side and grabbed onto the back of Paul's throat.

---The Bunker, February 6th---

Ark didn't trust Claire or Frederic anymore. They were always talking, their heads close together and their voices down, like they didn't want anybody to overhear their conversations. That worried Ark. Especially now that they were going out to find Leon and Ada, an activity that needed to stay silent.

He also was beginning to lose trust in the President. Sherry told him about how the President had offered her the opportunity to take as many helpers as she wanted but hadn't tried to stop the Marines from stopping Sherry or Angela from leaving after that. It was rather odd, Ark agreed with that. But what was bothering him even more was the fact that the President was eager to go and help Leon and Ada.

Ark was beginning to think that the only people he could trust were the little girls, Sherry, and the two people they were going to save. They were all people who seemed, although he'd never met Ada, to tell the truth in situations most necessary. And he knew that Leon would never lie unless absolutely necessary. He knew that Leon was the honest man who was trusted by everybody.

Accept Frederic Downing. For some reason Downing had started to spread rumors that Leon was a liar and that he was an evil man. Ark was a little more than confused. And worried. Leon and Ada needed people to be on their sides when they came into the Bunker. And the thing was, the only reason the trust was necessary was because of the relationship that had been displayed on the murals. People didn't trust Ada. Therefore they didn't trust the man who protected her.

_I hope you know what you're doing, Leon. Being in love with a woman who's only making people fill with distrust at your image._

---Washington D.C., February 6th---

The dog ripped the back of Paul's neck off and the cannibal collapsed to the world below. The dog deftly leapt off his back and sprinted over to Ada, his long canines glistening with crimson. Leon was still on his knees, blood oozing from his chest and down his pants. Only Splicer and Clump stood between Ada and the man she loved.

"You're rather impressive, bitch," Splicer snarled. Ada didn't let him finish his sentence. She tore the blade from her belt and threw it with all of her strength. It struck him in the sternum and he fell back.

Clump made an inhuman noise and rushed for the assassin. The Kunming wolf-dog fled from her side and she followed his example, cart-wheeling to her left and Clump smashed into the building. The wall collapsed under his weight and he fell silent.

Before she could react, Splicer was up and his left hand grabbed her throat while his right hand brought the combat knife down on her. One of her hands shot up to catch his wrist and she struggled to drive the blade away while her other hand gripped his wrist uselessly. He started to overpower her and right when the dog was about to lunge, Leon did instead.

Even wounded, Leon tackled into Splicer's side and sent them both to the ground. The knife fell away uselessly and Leon rolled away from Splicer, laying on his back and breathing slowly. Splicer started to get up when Ada kicked him in the head. He jerked and cried out, dropping to the concrete.

_I have yet to get my revenge on you, moron, _she thought to herself as she brought out the Desert Eagle. She fired the seven rounds in the gun into Clump, who'd started to stand, and knelt down quickly. Without a second thought, she pressed the hot muzzle to his cheek and pulled back the slide.

"There's one person on this planet that you don't want to anger," she started to explain as the extremely hot metal cooked his flesh slowly. He was obviously trying to not cry out but the tears of pain in his eyes gave him away. The dog ran over to Leon, nuzzling the agent's neck. "And that's me."

She placed one fifty caliber round in the chamber of the gun and snapped the slide forward, probably pinching some flesh. Leon stumbled to his feet and stood on his weakened legs before he looked at her. Ada pulled the trigger.

---The Bunker, February 6th---

"Lott?"

"Hm?"

"Are you going with your dad to help Leon and Ada?"

"…Probably not. Why?"

"I was thinking about going."

"Why?"

"Why not? This place is boring. At least saving those two would give me something to do."

"Good point…"

"…"

"…"

"So…are you going to go?"

"Sure."

---Washington D.C., February 6th---

They got two blocks away before Leon collapsed. She had to half drag, half carry him into the closest building. It turned out to be an old apartment building so, with the dog they'd taken to calling Hero watching Leon, she'd scavenged the building for blankets and pillows and food. She ended up shooting two zombies in the head.

About two hours later, Leon lay on his back next to a fire with a blanket covering him and a pillow under his head. She sat near his head, every now and then resting her hand on his forehead. He was running a fever, a nasty one, and she hadn't been able to find anything to help. So, she had to use her hands, which were always cold, to cool him down. He hadn't been able to eat any of the soup she'd found in the building.

"Hero," she mumbled gently, watching as the dog drank his can of soup hungrily. The dog lifted his head, having already taken to his new name, and stared at her expectantly. "I need you to listen for any noises outside, okay?" She had to hope he understood her orders. "Bark if you hear anything, okay?" The dog's eyes seemed to promise that he would do as she asked she lay down next to Leon, her head on his pillow. He mumbled her name softly. "I'm right here handsome."

_I'm always here for you._


	9. Chapter 9

The Agent's Blade

---Washington D.C., February 7th---

Fighting off a fever was ten times worse than fighting any monster. At least with the monster when all other things failed, he could blow it up thanks to some rocket launcher thrown to him by Ada. But with the fever he couldn't do anything but suffer. Suffer and listen to Ada softly speak to him.

He guessed she did that for them both. Her voice was low so anybody outside wouldn't be able to hear her speak. But she was loud enough for his clogged brain to register what she was saying. Sometimes, it was easier than others. Sometimes it was very easy, when the fever was backing off. Other times he could hardly register what she was saying and even thinking about it hurt too much.

The one thing he could always register was her cool hand. Her hand rested on his forehead and on his shoulder and against his neck in attempts to cool him off. He knew what she was doing. It was a good replacement for lack of ice. But it wasn't working very well. And he knew she realized that. It was just the best way to work against the fevers.

As a kid, he'd never gotten chills when he'd had fevers. It was always just being hot and uncomfortable. But now he felt numb and overly hot at the same time. He sometimes shivered but he wasn't that affected by the cold feeling coursing through him. No, he'd dealt with worse colds than this.

Ada gently whispered something to him but he couldn't really tell what she'd said. Her hands, however, told him. She wanted him to sit up and drink some water or he'd dehydrate. But he couldn't move. His body felt like it was on fire. And that fire seemed to be pinning him down.

Yes, fighting the fever was much worse than fighting a monster.

---The Bunker, February 7th---

Sherry and Ark left before all of the others. The President had searched the building over for them but he couldn't see either of them. He guessed they'd gotten sick and tired of waiting so they'd left.

"They're going to ruin the plan," Claire snapped angrily. The President let his gaze settle on Claire before he turned to the others. They were all staring at him expectantly. What did they expect him to do?

"Well, it's too late to worry about those two and their actions now, isn't it? We'll continue through with our plan. In fact, them leaving early might help us. They are, after all, the one most eager to find Leon and Ada. Maybe they'll find them first," the President offered, trying to let words protect him from the curious gazes offered to him.

"I doubt that," Claire mumbled. The President turned his gaze on her and let his distrust of her show in his eyes. She stared at him, almost backing down. He was still a rather imposing figure. And he was still the President. He still had the power.

"Stop being so negative Redfield," Graham ordered finally. "Unless you know for a fact that Ark and Sherry leaving will only be bad and have no good come out of it, keep your mouth shut."

Claire lowered her gaze and stared at the floor while the President started for the exit. The rest of the Bunker was in deep sleep so they'd be good to leave for about an hour. After that, they would be caught. If they didn't get caught right now.

---Washington D.C., February 7th---

Ada gently stroked Leon's hair and whispered comforting and promising words to him. However, her words didn't portray the fear she felt within her. She felt panic building in her as Leon reacted to her questions and comments less and less.

It was about midday out from what she could tell and light shined into the building from the windows. Hero lay in a pool of light, basking in the sun and letting it warm his black and tan coat. He was the only one of them who was relaxed and happy.

Ada was worried that Leon was succumbing to the fever that gripped him ever so tightly. But she didn't let that show in her voice as she whispered promises and other soothing things to him. The night before he'd at least reacted to her questions and comments. Now however, he lay like a doll before her.

Hero suddenly leapt to his feet and walked over to them. Lying down next to Leon, he looked up at Ada with a hopeful look. Did he hope to go hunting? Or was he hoping for more food? She couldn't tell. She'd never owned an animal, as much as she would've liked to. So, Hero's questioning looks were as foreign to her as love had been back in Raccoon City. But before she could reach over and grab him a can of soup, she heard voices.

The assassin tensed up and removed her hand from Leon's hair. She grabbed the dangerous gun on her leg and aimed it at the door, motioning for Hero to go over there. The Kunming wolf-dog ran over to the door, his fur bristling dangerously along his spine. Leon remained silent so Ada walked over to the doors that led to the outside world and looked out of the windows above the handles on the doors.

Two grubby looking people walked around, their eyes wide and cautious. They were obviously cannibals, which was especially obvious given their not-hungry looks. Everybody else was suffering while the cannibals prospered. However, before Ada could even think about taking them down, two voices called out.

_Can't see them… But it sounded like… Angela? _

Ada, more than confused, walked to the window next to the doors. It had been covered in boards to prevent the undead from coming in but one of the boards hung loose. She gently pried it all the way off and looked out.

Sure enough it was Angela Miller and a couple Marines walking up the street. The Marines held their guns at the ready but the cannibals, who Ada could barely see out of the window, looked innocently upon the soldiers. She dared not give her position away and call to Angela. Instead, she remained silent and prayed that the Marines wouldn't trust the cannibals.

Ada didn't feel like watching to see if Angela and the Marines were going to survive against the cannibals. She had to hope that they would because that meant they could get Leon to safety. But that was all Ada was concerned about; Leon's safety. And she wouldn't compromise his current safety to call to the people walking up to the cannibals. Hero, however, stayed by the window and watched the scene as Ada knelt down beside Leon.

"Looks like we've got help, handsome," she breathed, gently running the back of her fingers against his cheek. "If they can survive the cannibals."

She hoped he'd reply. She hoped he'd mumble something, even if she couldn't understand what it was that he'd mumbled. She hoped that he'd react in some way. But he stayed still and continued his slow, but steady, breathing.

Sudden gunshots from outside, followed by the sound of dead bodies collapsing to the floor, alerted her to the situation outside. Hero snarled furiously and she softly called his name. The dog, ever loyal to her, trotted back to her side and sat down. But he continued to stare at the window.

Ada lifted herself from Leon's side and walked over to the doors. She peered cautiously out of the windows in the door and spotted Angela and the Marines standing above the corpses. She felt a sigh of relief escape her and carefully pushed the doors open as to not startle them.

---

Sherry and Ark had been searching the city for an hour before they found the corralled zombies and a couple of what had to be cannibals tossing bits of people into the zombies' awaiting arms. Sherry crouched behind a parked car and Ark remained at her side.

"It's not them, Sherry," Ark promised as Sherry clutched at the bumper of the car. Her fingers dug into the metal, making it whine softly as she crushed it into a new shape. She wasn't doing it completely on purpose.

"Then what do you say to us finding out who it is?" she asked, standing. Ark hissed her name and tried to grab her before she walked into the street. The cannibals jerked their heads up and stared at Sherry darkly.

"Who the fuck-" one of them started to cry. Unfortunately, the idiot wasn't paying attention to the thing he was standing on and it collapsed, sending him into the zombie pit below. The other cannibal looked down into the pit without any emotion before looking up at Sherry.

"Who am I?" she asked and the man seemed to nod. "My name is Sherry. And I'm looking for a couple people. Maybe you can tell me where they are. Leon Kennedy and Ada Wong. It's hard to miss them. He's blond and she's got black hair. He's got blue eyes and she's got green ones. Ever seen anybody that even looks like that?"

"I know who they are," the cannibal replied, kicking the remains of a body into the zombie pit. "I helped my sister get a picture for the guy."

"Yeah?" Sherry asked, her heart thundering wildly in her ribcage. "Where are they?"

"Don't know," he replied. "She killed three of our people, tortured our leader to a point where he's pretty much catatonic, and they both left. Fun stuff if you ask me."

"For a cannibal-"

"I'm decent? Just because we choose to eat other people doesn't mean we aren't still people ourselves," the man replied with a shrug. Sherry glared at him darkly and he seemed to somewhat back down under her gaze.

"We're dealing with zombies. Do you honestly think the world needs cannibals too?" she snarled before walking away. They would have to find Leon and Ada elsewhere. All Sherry wanted was to be as far away from the cannibals as possible.

---

The President was the one who found Angela and the Marines again. But when he found them, he also found Leon and Ada. And a dog. Claire watched the dog carefully, as if she was afraid of him jumping up and biting her. Ever since Raccoon City she'd found that she had a fear of large dogs. Zombified canines leaping at your face can be a rather frightening experience.

"How are we going to get him back to the Bunker?" a Marine asked, breaking Claire from her thoughts. Two Marines and a Secret Service agent knelt next to Leon who was lying on the floor, unconscious. Ada remained standing near the sleeping agent, watching the three carefully. She looked like she expected the three to attack Leon.

_Odd… What happened to make her so paranoid? _Claire wondered to herself. Though she didn't know Ada personally, she knew that the assassin was damn good at what she did. And she also knew that the assassin didn't get paranoid for no reason.

"We'll have to carry him. We can make a stretcher out of the blanket," Graham pointed out. Ada looked at him, her steely eyes narrowed as she looked at him. Claire saw the hatred burning in the Eurasian woman's eyes.

"That's a good idea," somebody admitted. "But what about Sherry and Ark? We can't just leave them out here."

The President seemed to think for a moment before he looked over at Claire, who stared back at him. "Why don't you and Ashley go find Sherry and Ark? We'll start for the White House and I'll make sure to stay behind so they open the doors for you two as well. Okay?"

Claire sighed but didn't bother saying no.

---

Sherry and Ark nearly ran into Claire and Ashley. The two backed off from the dark haired man and the teen but stayed in front of them. Sherry noticed that they were looking around the city cautiously.

"We found Leon and Ada. We're going back to the White House," Claire said before walking off. Sherry and the other two followed her quietly and left Sherry to be in her thoughts.

The cannibal had said that Ada had killed three of their men and tortured another. Now Sherry didn't know everything about the assassin but she knew that Ada wouldn't do something like that without a reason. So, the question was what was the reason for Ada attacking them with such brutality?

---The Bunker, February 7th---

"He'll wake up by tonight or tomorrow morning. The infection just got dangerous, is all," the doctor of the Bunker explained to Ada softly. He looked kindly enough but apparently what he had seen wasn't good. She stared at him until he caved. "Those wounds…are very bad…"

"I know," she said. "Well, I haven't seen what they did to his chest but I know what they did to his arm. …Is it…is it permanent?"

The doctor sighed before stating, "Unlikely. But he'll never have true control over his arm again, not like you and I at least. You know when you sleep on your arm and it goes numb?" She nodded though she didn't truly know. She knew what it was like for her arm to go numb though. "It'll be like a weaker version of that."

"But it's not permanent," she said. The doctor nodded and she felt a sigh of relief. She knew that Leon would be more upset if his arm was permanently ruined than he would be if it was just going to be hard to completely control. "…And his chest?"

"Honestly, it looks like that was more for torture than for anything else. The skin will come back and the only thing that will be left are some nasty scars," the doctor explained. Ada looked towards the door that Leon lay behind. She must've looked longing because he suddenly said, "You're more than welcome to go visit him. It's always nice to have somebody there to talk to you when you're unconscious."

She nodded and walked past him. As soon as she was in the room, she closed the door behind her and walked to Leon, who lay on one of the cots in the back of the room. She sat down next to the bed and rested her forehead on the pillow next to Leon's head. She closed her eyes and fell asleep listening to the steady sound of Leon breathing.

---

Sherry tossed a baseball for Hero and the large wolf-dog sprinted after it, nearly bowling several people over. People liked the dog but hated the people he'd come with, something Sherry didn't truly understand. Of course, parents tried to keep the dirty canine away from their children but that didn't really work. The kids loved the dog and acted like young children around him.

Rani and several other children had been asking about Leon's wellbeing and Sherry told them that he was going to be fine and that all he needed was some rest. How easily the lie came off her tongue. In all honesty, she didn't know if Leon was going to be okay or not. She only knew that he was going to live.

She looked over and saw Claire speaking with Downing. Something about that upset Sherry. Maybe it was the fact that they avoided other people when they were talking, telling Sherry that they didn't want people to overhear them. Which, in a world like the one they now lived in, that wasn't a good thing.

Secrets weren't good whatsoever.

A/N: I know, it's short. I'm sorry but…it's a filler. And if it seemed rushed, I apologize for that too. This chapter doesn't sit well with me.


	10. Chapter 10

The Agent's Blade

---The Bunker, February 8th---

When Leon finally woke up, he was in a dark room. It was too dark for him to see anything overly important but he could feel something, rather, somebody at his side. Ada was sleeping in a chair at his side, her head resting on the pillow that his was on. Her hair fell into her face, almost covering it completely, but he could see tiny slivers of her pale skin between the ebony locks of her hair.

He looked around again, unfamiliar with his surroundings. The last thing he remembered was Ada whispering to him in some kind of a dark building with the dog, Hero, at her side. Then, everything became a blur and he doubted he wanted to see exactly what dreams his fever had caused.

"You're awake?" a soft but familiar voice whispered. He looked over again and saw Ada sitting up in the chair, running a hand through her short hair. He nodded weakly and she offered him a light smile. "I was beginning to worry. I think it's like…eleven…"

He tried to speak but his throat was too raw. She gave him a slightly concerned look before reaching over and grabbing something from beyond his line of sight. When she pulled her arm back, a glass of water was in her hand and she offered it to him. Without much of a struggle, he used his right arm to lift him into a semi-sitting position. His chest ached slightly but some kind of pain killers seemed to dull the pain. He took the glass as soon as his back was against the headboard of the bed.

_Wait a minute… I'm in a bed? _

The water soothed his raw throat and as soon as he pulled the glass away from him, he asked, "Where are we?"

"The Bunker," she replied, her eyes examining him quietly. He saw the concern in them but he didn't say anything about it. While it confused him as to why she was so concerned, it touched him that she was so worried for him. "I thought you took a tour of it when you first joined the Secret Service."

"Never this part," he replied, looking around again. "Then again, it could just be because it's dark. You know, one of those two things." A smile flickered across her lips and she lowered her gaze. "…You said it was…eleven?"

She gently lifted her arm and looked at her wrist, where a watch sat. He was about to ask her where she'd gotten it when she said, "It's 11:49 actually. It's about lunchtime."

"Wait…how long have I been out?" he asked, suddenly casting her a worried look.

With a dead serious face, the assassin gently replied, "About a month."

They stared at each other and while his heart secretly started to speed up, he knew he looked calm and composed. But then she laughed and dropped her head into her hands and Leon scoffed at the Eurasian woman.

"You're not very good at jokes are you?" he teased. She didn't lift her face from her hands but her shoulders shook with laughter.

"Oh shut up," she breathed out, her voice heavily muffled by her hands. "You fell for it. I know you did. And don't even try to tell me you didn't because I just know you did, Leon."

"Okay, I'll admit I fell for it. But the fact that you couldn't keep a straight face is just…wow… And how exactly did you become an assassin?" he asked, his voice still teasing. She lifted her face from her hands and he noticed the laughter in her eyes.

"Need I show you?" she purred. He shook his head adamantly. She smiled and stated, "Then shut up."

"Aye sir," he replied, letting the glass rest in his left hand and lifting his right in a mock salute. As soon as his hand dropped however, he asked, "Do I have to address you as my superior now? Because I don't want to."

"You don't want to? I didn't ask if you wanted to. I'm your superior, therefore you must call me by such," she ordered, her voice taking on a hardened edge. He stared at her and the corner of her mouth lifted up in a smile. "Okay, no… I don't think I could take you calling me sir…"

"I wasn't going to call you sir anyway," he replied with a shrug. He looked away as she raised an eyebrow at his statement. "Okay… I might've…"

They fell into a gentle silence before Leon noticed Ada was looking at him with concern in her eyes. His chest ached but not because of any emotional problem. No, it was because his chest was obviously still wounded. She suddenly reached out and touched his chest, which was only covered by clean white bandages.

_What, no shirt?_

He covered her hand with his own and asked, "Damages?"

"Your arm…will never be completely useful again. You know what it feels like when your arm goes numb?" She waited for him to nod before she said anything more. "The doctor said it will feel like that. And… Your chest is going to be fine other than some scars. He said it was more for torture than anything else… And you fell unconscious because of an infection that caused a fever. And… Well, that covers it… And you were only out for about a day. We got here yesterday."

He stared at her before asking, "And you made me think I've been unconscious for a great period of time? You're mean." She smiled before the humor seemed to be sucked out of the room. He remembered when they'd held him down to the table for a second time and the Splicer, Ugly, whatever the hell his name was snarled that the new pain was going to be a warning. "It was meant to be torture…" he mumbled. Ada visibly tensed up. "After I threw that knife you gave me at the fat bastard…"

She laughed softly and said, "And here I was thinking that little thing would never come in handy. …Why did you throw it?"

He remembered what Fatso had been telling him, about using Sherry and Angela. He'd known what they would've been used for and the mere idea of such made him queasy. "Some….things….he said," Leon gently replied, looking at Ada. She gently pulled her hand out from underneath his and reached over, grabbing something. A shirt, he realized.

"The doctor let you keep your pants… But the shirt had to go," she said as he lifted the shirt up. It was a plain black T-shirt, much like the one he'd been wearing. But something was oddly familiar about it. "And yes…it's yours. Literally yours. I guess Ashley decided to take a trip to your apartment before she came back to the White House."

"What?" he asked. Came back to the White House?

Ada smiled and said, "Yeah, it's a long story."

---

Sherry was tackled awake by Hero, who was more than hungry. The dog licked at her face before his ears suddenly pricked up and he stepped away from her. The doctor was walking over to the main medical room, where Leon slept. Sherry had yet to see him. She didn't want to look at the man in such a weakened condition. She doubted her heart could take the sight.

"Go," she hissed at Hero. The dog made a soft groaning noise before running off to join the doctor and visit Ada and Leon. She sighed and rolled over on her cot.

They were all given beds that they had to stack against the walls during the daytime unless they had another reason to stay asleep. The President and the other officials from the government got their own bedrooms, which looked ten times comfier than the thin little mattresses they'd been given. But Sherry had discovered how her tired body was more than willing to sleep on the cot without a second thought.

"Sherry," Ark suddenly said, catching the young blonde's attention. She opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Can I speak to you?" he asked gently, looking at something Sherry couldn't see. She lifted herself into a sitting position before standing and following his gaze. Claire and Downing were talking to each other softly again. Sherry knew Ark didn't trust their conversations. She nodded to the dark haired man and he walked off towards the President's stage.  
After Sherry placed her cot against the wall, she joined Ark and looked out over the crowd. "Okay, what do you want, Thompson?" she asked, not looking at him. She wouldn't let anybody notice that they were talking to each other if he didn't want anybody to notice such.

"I was wondering…if you could… Well, ask Ada about Downing," Ark finally said, his voice sounding distant. She looked over at him, raising an eyebrow in confusion. He looked back at her and offered her an awkward smile. "I would ask her myself but… I still can't believe that a woman we were trained to kill is actually our boss and… I'm afraid she doesn't like me very much."

"I'll ask her but what do you expect her to say? Do you expect her to pull some magical information about Downing out of thin air?" she laughed bitterly, brushing some stray strands of her golden hair out of her face. Ark looked down and seemed to turn red. "Really? Well… Okay, I'll admit… With Ada, that's probably very possible. But what do you expect her to say? What information do you want?"

"I don't know… That's the problem. I know Downing went into Raccoon and grabbed a G-Virus sample but was he Umbrella? Government? Something else? And how does he connect to the outbreaks now? That kind of stuff," Ark replied, looking distant.

"Hm… Okay… I'll ask. But…not today. Maybe not even this week. I don't mean to upset you but… Ada and Leon need to be left alone for a while. None of us know what Leon or Ada went through and judging by Leon's appearance, it wasn't very nice. So, let's leave them be for now. I'll ask her next week or something. Okay?" She looked at Ark and saw, to her shock, relief on his face.

"As long as you ask her within the month, I don't care. I just… I want information. The way he and Claire act like they have some huge secret," Ark mumbled, his voice dropping a few octaves. Sherry looked at them silently and noticed what he meant. An outsider would think they were a couple of conspirators.

"The President's no better," she pointed out, quietly enough that only Hero would've been able to hear her. Ark nodded, looking distant for a moment, before he looked back at her.

"Maybe you should ask about him, too," he mumbled. Sherry smiled and nodded her head.

---

Angela wanted to visit Leon but she didn't dare interact with him around the assassin. She was worried about seeing something she dared not think about between the two if she was in the same room with them. Because it was obvious that there was something more than friendship between them. Especially now. Ada hadn't left his side since the day before, instead having the dog fetch her food and water.

But Angela also didn't really want to visit Leon because she feared seeing him in such a weakened state would make her say something stupid, such as admit how she thought she felt about him. She wasn't certain that's how she felt but she believed that's how it was. But she knew that seeing him, weakened to a point of being unable to stand, would make her say those stupid words, words she hadn't said to a man since high school. The last time she'd come close to thinking such thoughts had been towards Greg.

_Greg… I miss you so much… You were always there for me… Why did you have to get bitten? Why did you have to die? _

She could still picture Leon holding Greg by his vest, snarling about how stupid he'd acted. It was the first time she'd ever seen the agent in some kind of positive light because she agreed that Greg had been foolish. But she also remembered the part of her that wanted to jump to Greg's defense because she still cared for him. They were still friends. But they'd run off before she could defend Greg. And the big man had obviously noticed her lack of defense.

She suddenly thought back to what the assassin had said to her what felt like years ago. How she'd moved on so quickly after Greg and Curtis were dead, how she'd grabbed onto Leon and hadn't let go.

Did that make her a bad person?

---

"They're here now. When are you going to poison her?"

"I was thinking about that, honestly. Poison in the soup…maybe the water… But the problem is now Leon's up and about."

"He is?"

"The doctor said he was awake at least. If she dies on him all of a sudden, he'll know something's up and with the way Birkin and Thompson have been lately about me then he'll know. And he's not going to be taken down easily."

"So?"

"We poison him too. And we'll poison them in…a week, maybe a little more than a week."

"Why wait?"

"What's the point of letting them come back if we're just going to kill them again?"

"Good point."

"We'll kill them within a week. The dog too. Or we'll just have him sniffing around-"

"Doesn't he pose a problem?"

"The dog? Yes but all of our scents are mingling in here. He won't be able to tell my from them and them from us."

"You sure?"

"Are you afraid of him?"

"He's a nasty looking dog."

"True but he's just a dog. We'll poison him too. And if that doesn't work I'll just shoot him."

"You sure that will work?"

"Why question me?"

"Just watching my ass."

"It'll work. All of my plans work."

---

He stood in the shower, under the warm water, in his clothes. He'd found it too difficult to take off the shirt without hurting his arm too much or making his chest ache viciously. So, he simply settled on standing under the warm water, clothes and all.

"Leon?" Ada suddenly asked. He lowered his head, his soaking hair falling into his face messily. "I wanted to…apologize for what I did…" Water dribbled into his face and he kept his eyes closed. "I shouldn't have offered myself up… I was acting brashly and I could've gotten myself killed and I know you wouldn't have ever forgiven yourself if that happened… But I couldn't… I couldn't let them do that to you anymore."

The shower was separated from the rest of the bathroom by a dark blue curtain but he pictured her leaning against the counter with her head lowered. So, he gently said, "Don't apologize… I'd be dead…or worse…had you not done that. True, you gave me a bit of a heart attack but… I owe you my life again."

They fell into a somber silence before she whispered, "Mind if I join you?"


	11. Chapter 11

The Agent's Blade

---The Bunker, February 8th---

Leon was about to reply when somebody knocked onto the door that led to the bathroom. He imagined that Ada turned to face the door, confusion and annoyance rushing across her face all at once. He felt those two emotions in himself at that very moment, though annoyance was definitely the more prominent one.

"What?" Ada asked, her voice almost sounding like an angry bark. Leon silently wished that she had barked because maybe the intruder would go away and he could answer her question.

"I don't mean to be bothersome but I wanted to speak to you, Miss Wong," a heavily accented voice stated. Leon recognized Frederic Downing's voice and frowned deeply. What would Downing want with Ada?

"I'm a bit busy," Ada replied, her voice tinged with aggravation. But Leon also thought he heard a bit of uncertainty in her voice as well. And he understood why. Ada had shot Downing. He had no reason to treat her kindly after she'd shot him through the throat without a second thought.

"Well, this is a bit important," Downing replied, being very persistent. Ada, he imagined, was pulling a face and glaring at the door, almost like she hoped her anger would penetrate the wood and leak into Downing's brain and he'd leave. But Leon decided to speak finally.

"Go ahead. Whatever it is must be important for him to want to talk to you. I can last without you," he promised, letting the water continue to run over his head. His hair was in his face now and he didn't bother pushing it away.

He noticed the disappointment in her voice as she mumbled, "Yeah… Okay. I'll see you in a little while Leon."

And then she was gone.

---

"You're going to let her talk to him?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"What if he tells her?"

"Tells her what?"

"About me!"

"What about you?"

'Oh for fucks sake…"

"Look, he doesn't even know about you. What would he tell her?"

"About Harvardville? About my involvement there."

"Hell, everybody knows about that."

"Not the _true _involvement."

"Now why in the world would he bring you up?"

"Because he's just as nutty as you are."

"I doubt that. He won't bring you up. Let them talk. Besides, what fun is it if she's completely trusting of us anyway?"

"You're fucking insane…"

"Oh well."

---

Downing and Ada walked to the farthest regions of the Bunker, stopping next to the food lockers to talk. She noted the worried look on his face and the way his eyes constantly looked around. He was paranoid. And he looked like he expected a monster to leap out of the shadows at any moment.

"If this is about me shooting you…" Ada started to mumble but Downing shook his head vigorously. She narrowed her eyes at him and let her hand rest near the Desert Eagle on her thigh. She didn't trust somebody that didn't care that she'd shot him in the throat.

"No, it's not about that… It's about another one of your targets though," he said softly, his eyes flickering about nervously. His paranoia was contagious and Ada found herself looking around as well.

"Another one of my targets? Recent targets or-"

"A while back… After Harvardville," Downing said. Ada felt the paranoia fade away. The only targets she'd had after Harvardville was Ron Davis and a few other no-name people for the companies she'd been connected with. "I'm certain-"

The sound of footsteps approaching them silenced the British man. He lifted his petrified gaze and stared down the hall as a Marine walked towards them. The young man cast the assassin and the silver haired man a confused look.

"What are you two doing down here?" he asked, shooting Downing a particularly suspicious look. Ada was surprised that she wasn't the one to receive such a look. "We're not supposed to let people down here unless the President says so."

"Sorry. Downing here was just being paranoid about some stupid stuff long passed," Ada replied, waving her hand bitterly at Downing. The silver haired man stared at her in quiet disbelief and she was amazed that he'd thought she would completely believe and trust everything he tried to tell her. The Marine continued to look at Downing suspiciously but he finally nodded at Ada's statement.

"Well, you two need to get back to the main section of the Bunker please. I don't want to get in trouble with the superiors because I let you guys down here," he said calmly. Ada smiled.

"I am the superior but okay," she purred. The kid looked at her shyly, apparently realizing that she was indeed the one in charge of the Secret Service before he walked past her. Downing suddenly made an odd noise.

"What are you doing down here?" the British man asked. The Marine looked at him quietly before he shrugged.

"Getting food. What else?"

Ada shot Downing a warning look before she took off down the hall. Downing followed her and grabbed her shoulder, slowing her down slightly. She groaned inwardly and cast him a look.

"Our foes are one in the same. Let our allies be such as well," he breathed to her before quickly walking away. She watched as he faded into darkness and heard the Marine mumble 'crazy' under his breath. But something in the well trained assassin disagreed with the young man's statement.

_Our foes? Who are our foes?_

---

Sherry was beginning to fear a revolution was going to break loose in the Bunker. The people in the building seemed to be splitting themselves down the middle; on one side were those who were loyal to Leon and Ada while the other side were the people who weren't loyal to the agent and the assassin. The young teen was beginning to notice that people started to distance themselves from one another more and more. Only a few people remained neutral, unable to join either side completely.

"Have you noticed it?" Ashley whispered suddenly, making the teen snap around to face her. Sherry cocked her head in confusion. "The parents…they don't…they don't care that their children aren't with them."

Sherry looked over and noticed that the pro-Leon/Ada group did indeed have all of the children while the other group didn't have any. And yet none of the parents seemed to even care. Was this what the world had come to?

"It's…frightening," Ashley admitted. She sounded distracted however, like her mind wasn't completely on the problems that the children were facing without their parents there to help them.

"Something on your mind, Ashley?" Sherry asked, casting the older girl a look. Ashley looked away, like she couldn't bear to hold Sherry's eyes, but there was also an obvious want to tell the truth about what was going on. Sherry almost asked her again when Downing came walking into the room, looking rather upset. He took his seat next to Claire in the middle of the two groups. He was one of the people who was uncertain about who he wanted to side with.

_I wonder if Ark knows about that… Speaking of Ark… Where the hell is he? _Sherry asked herself, looking around for the dark haired man. She spotted Lily talking with her brother for what seemed to be the first time since Sherry, Angela, and Lenore had arrived in the Bunker. Angela was sitting by herself, staring into space. Lenore watching Rani and the other kids draw on the wall. And Claire talked with Downing quietly. But there was no Ark.

"Have you seen Ark?" Sherry asked Ashley. The girl's brown eyes widened at the sudden question but she shook her head. Sherry saw odd emotions flicker through Ashley's eyes but she said nothing.

"No, I'm sorry," Ashley said, sounding distant.

_I'm sure you are…_

---

"Did you see the look on his face?"

"He looked panicked. The man's becoming too paranoid. It will eventually kill him, you know."

"Hopefully sooner rather than later."

"I couldn't agree more but there's a bit of a problem now."

"Do you think she knows?"

"What? No. The Marine said they didn't even start the dammed conversation. No… It's Ashley. She's never very good at keeping secrets. We're doomed if she tells Birkin what's going on."

"Then you'll have to convince her to keep her mouth shut just a bit longer."

"You know that's a bit more difficult to do than you make it sound?"

"Oh well. You're good at convincing people. I mean, look at all those morons. They cling to every word you say."

"Not all of them."

"Yes, the ones who know Leon and Ada are the ones who don't but they're the minority here. That's all that matters."

"If you say so…"

"Trust me. I know what I'm talking about."

---Washington D.C., February 8th---

Ark walked through the White House's enormous and seemingly never ending halls. His eyes scanned the darkness lazily but the walk through the building was merely for pleasure and nothing more. He'd never seen the inside of the White House and even run down and empty it was still incredibly magnificent.

Zombies had begun to flood the lawn of the massive house, almost as if the cannibals were warning the people under the building that they'd soon be paying a visit. According to some people who'd dealt with the arsonists, they were an extremely vindictive group. And with the way that cannibal had described what had happened to them, he had no doubt that they were infuriated enough to come after Leon and Ada.

_What did Ada do to make their leader go into a catatonic state? _Ark asked himself, not for the first time. In fact, the question had been bothering him since they'd spoken to the cannibal. What could a woman like Ada do to somebody to make them become catatonic? A lot.

He almost imagined he heard soft voices in the building but he realized it was just the ever constant moaning and groaning of the undead. The sound had become something he was rather accustomed to, which was rather sad. But it still played tricks on his mind.

Ark stopped walking when he heard the whispers again, louder this time. He looked around, his right hand inching towards the handgun he kept in a shoulder harness under his heavy green jacket. Was somebody in there with him? Were there cannibals hunting him like he was a new item on the menu? Or was he going insane?

"Hello?" he called, his voice echoing in the broad halls. He cringed at how loud his voice was but looked around carefully, making sure to watch all of sides. His eyes were wide and cautious.

_Hell… I'm going nuts… _he told himself. But something moved, very quickly, in his peripheral. In one smooth movement, he'd turned and pulled his gun out and had it aimed at the shadows. Nothing moved however and Ark felt his heart pouting wildly in his chest.

_Time to go…_ he told himself. He'd seen enough horror movies to know not to search the darkness to find out whether whatever the shadow had been was human or not. He started off for the entrance to the Bunker, ignoring the soft whispering behind him.

---Unknown, February 9th---

_I want Angela. _

His left hand, grotesquely huge and mutated into a massive clawed appendage, smacked into an undead man as the creature accidentally bumped into him. Something within him roared in fury, as if the zombie's bump was the worst offense in the world, and he decided to smash it into the undead. The zombie was thrown into the air and smacked into a building with a sickening crunch. The crunch gave him some sort of primal satisfaction.

_I need Angela._

A cat ran across his path and he hardly managed to stop himself from chasing after it, his blood boiling in hatred at the thin creature. It was much too small to even feed a full grown human but something within him _needed _to kill the poor thing. But he managed to calm himself before he started after it.

_I have to have Angela._

---The Bunker, February 9th---

_As she gently brushed the edge of the blade against the fat folds of his throat, she felt some kind of a primal rush surging through her veins. He quivered and sobbed as she let the blade's sharp edge bite open his skin. A small line of blade trickled down his throat and she smirked cruelly._

_"Why?" he sobbed out. _

_"Why? You need to ask why? You saw what they did to him," she replied, lowering the blade and pressing it to his chest. "And because you were the one who told them to do that… I need to repay the favor."_

_She gently put weight onto the blade and it dipped into the first layer of his skin, tearing through his shirt, and making a weak sob escape him. Blood rushed out over the tip of the blade and she slowly dragged the blade down. _

_"I'll hold him down for you," offered a voice suddenly. She looked over and saw the woman who'd freed the other women. "I'd be more than willing to do so."_

Something brushed her shoulder ever so gently and without thinking she rolled onto her back and pressed the serrated edge of the eight inch combat knife to the person's throat. However, the second she recognized him, the knife fell from her fingers and struck the bed blade first, its handle sticking in the air uselessly.

"Remind me to never wake you from a dream again," Leon said gently, leaning his weight on the bed. Ada had been given a bed in the med-room so she could always be near Leon. The two beds were only separated by a thin curtain.

"I'm… I'm so sorry," she whispered, lifting herself into a sitting position. She looked up at him tiredly. "I…"

"You were having a nightmare I believe," he remarked bluntly. "With the way you were mumbling things… Hell, I was beginning to worry you were going to throw that knife across the room. Speaking of the knife…is that mine?" She nodded and offered it to him but he shook his head.

"I'm sorry… I was having a nightmare and… I can't believe I reacted that way," she whispered, lowering her head. Suddenly, she realized who exactly was standing beside her and she lifted her head to look at him again. "What are you doing out of bed?"

He offered her a smile and asked, "Am I not allowed to walk around anymore?" She shook her head bitterly and he scoffed. "Why's that? I walked around yesterday."

"That was to take a shower," she replied. He cocked his head in confusion and she had to admit, it made him look incredibly adorable.

"How does that make it any different? I was standing for a longer period of time then I am now. Isn't this better than yesterday?" he asked. She rolled her eyes and the look on his face made her laugh.

"You just don't understand. Sit down at least," she ordered, motioning for the bed. He shook his head. "Sit."

"No."

"Now."

"Are you going to make me?"

"Do I have to?"

"Yes. Because I'm not sitting."

She started to get up and Leon backed off immediately, making her laugh faintly. "You're such a…" She trailed off and Leon folded his arms over his chest. "Don't make me say it."

"Say what, dearest?" he asked, acting like he had no idea. She stood and, carefully, placed her hands on his shoulders and began to guide him back to his bed. When they were close enough, she pushed gently and made him sit down. She sat down beside him.

"Stubborn," she mumbled.

"I'd like to think I'm obstinate is all." She shot him a look and he smiled at her. She shook her head at him before looking down at her hands, which rested in between her knees. The dream came flooding back to her as silence surrounded them.

_I was so…happy to make that freak cry…to make him scream… It gave me actual joy…actual pleasure…_

"What was it about?" he suddenly asked. She looked over at him but didn't have to ask him what he was talking about.

"I don't think you want to know…" she mumbled in response. Truly, she didn't want him to see what had happened to her because of what they'd done to him. She didn't want him to look at her like she was a monster, even if that was what she'd become. But when he reached over and took her hands in his own and leaned closer to her so that they were leaning together, she knew he wasn't about to back down.

"Right… I don't want to know why you were about to kill something," he mumbled. "I don't want to know why you held a knife to my throat."

She lowered her head but mumbled, "It was…it was about what I did to that freak… Fatso or whatever his name was…"

"Okay?"

"I tortured him."

He didn't say anything but she felt him tense up slightly. But then he said, "Okay… It's like fighting fire with fire. Maybe now they won't do to others what they did to me."

"I made him scream."

She wanted him to say something satirical. She wanted him to joke. But he didn't. Instead, he remained silent and waited for her to explain, even if she didn't want to. She noticed, however, that he hadn't moved away from her and he was still holding her hands. That was comforting, to say the least.

"I did to him what he did to you…but worse…" she started to explain. "I cut his chest open…the way he did to you…but I made sure it went to the bone… And then I did the same to his arm. I made sure to cut the muscle and the tissue and everything else and made sure that he'd never use that arm again… And then…just because I could… I…" The idea of what she'd done made her sick but Leon was still holding her hands. "Cut his face off."

He cringed slightly but still held her hands. "That's not that bad… I mean…you could've-"

"I let all of those women beat him while he was crying," she continued, not letting him lessen the situation. She knew that what she'd done was incredibly horrible. Even to the bastard who'd taken pleasure in torturing Leon. "And then…one of them…found salt. And you know what they did with that. All the while I was using a dead man's shirt to clean off my hands and the knife like…like it was something common to me… I'm… I'm a monster…"

"No," Leon started.

"How can you say that?" she asked. "Leon, I tortured that man and-"

"So what?" he asked. "Look what he did to me. To all of those women. To God knows how many other people. He deserved it! But you don't deserve the guilt… You didn't do anything wrong. And I know you think that you did. But you didn't. Hell, I'm glad to know that that freak won't be coming after us anymore. He was the only smart one of them… Look…we both snapped a little… We just did it differently…."

"What?"

"…I… I was kinda losing it… Paul and Splicer told me how they knew I was government and I remember that now. But at the time…I'd forgotten… And I ended up asking again… But that time I got a picture…" He reached under the pillow and pulled it out. She smiled. It was a picture of Sherry, beaming at the camera happily. "It was taken two days before they took her away," he mumbled. "Anyway…don't… Don't think yourself a monster Ada…. God knows you're the opposite of that. If you were a monster…you would've left me there to die. You would've let them torture me. I'm grateful. No matter what you did to him. Though… I will admit… That was a bit gruesome… Not a thing to tell our kids."

She smiled at that last sentence and the entire conversation seemed to fade away, all of it but that last line. Ada couldn't believe that he didn't care whatsoever about what she'd done. He even…

_Our kids… I like that._

"Can I sleep with you tonight?" she whispered? He nodded and they lay down, with her close to the wall. He wrapped his arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder. Her hand gently rested on his chest, careful not to put any weight down on the still tender wounds. "I love you…so much…"

Before she closed her eyes she noticed him smile and he mumbled, "Not as much as I love you."


	12. Chapter 12

The Agent's Blade

---The Bunker, February 15th---

Nearly a week later the Bunker was so badly separated that people actually began piling things up between the two crowds. The doctor who attended to Leon, helping him train his left arm every day, said the agent would be able to move out of the med-room and into the Bunker's main room in a day or two. That made Sherry, and all of Leon's close friends, happy. But that upset the other side of the room even more.

"It's like a fucking war zone in here," somebody grumbled to Sherry's left. The young teen cast the man, a short portly fellow with thick facial hair and slicked back greasy looking hair, a silent look. "Well…it is… And can this really be over the agents?"

"I guess," Sherry replied. "I don't really understand what caused this to happen… It honestly doesn't make any sense…" She looked over at the murals, where pictures of others had been added to the collage of Leon and Ada. Claire, Ark, Angela, and even Sherry herself had been painted on it. Claire had given out pictures of the ex-S.T.A.R.S. members and they too had been painted on the walls.

"Maybe it's not really over them…" he suddenly mumbled. Sherry raised a confused eyebrow at him. "Maybe it's over who controls the building… I mean…I might just be pulling this out of thin air because of how many movies I've seen but… In movies there are always two groups. One who's loyal to the leaders and the others who aren't loyal…"

"So, you're saying the different groups represent those who are and aren't loyal to the President?" Sherry asked. He nodded and then she looked around. Downing and Claire had, oddly, joined the pro-Leon/Ada side of the Bunker. All of the Secret Service and the vast majority of the Marines were also on the pro-Leon/Ada side. Angela, Lenore, Ark, and the kids were all on the pro-Leon/Ada side. "But… Not everybody on this side is loyal to the President," she stated. The man lowered his gaze.

"I think… I think that's because we're the side against the President."

---

"Ark?" Claire asked, walking over to the dark haired man. He looked up at her tiredly and she looked away sheepishly. He frowned at her bitterly.

"What do you want, Claire?" he asked, his voice harsher than he'd expected. But he didn't regret snapping at her. After all, she was treating Downing better than anybody else. It was like she didn't care about anybody but the WilPharma researcher.

"I wanted to talk to you about-"

"Ark," Sherry said, walking towards him. The teen looked somehow older than the redhead in front of him. She just looked older and more experienced than Claire. And it was a possibility that that was true. Sherry's past was basically unknown between Raccoon City and the world's collapse after all. "I need to talk to you. Alone."

"I was talking to him," Claire said, shooting the teen a dirty look. The blonde stared back, her steely eyes narrowed in anger.

"Oh really? All of a sudden? For no reason? The first time in how long? Why don't you go talk to Rani? She still treats you like a hero. Now leave. I need to talk to Ark," she snapped. Ark stood before they could start to argue and led Sherry away by her arm.

"What do you want?" he asked as soon as they were out of earshot of Claire. He noticed how the young teen looked bitterly back at Claire every now and then. But then Sherry looked at Ark with a somber expression and the man knew something was wrong.

"I was talking to a man who…who thinks that the Bunker isn't divided on basis of who does and who doesn't want Ada and Leon in here… He thinks it's based on loyalty to the President," Sherry explained.

"Okay? That's not that hard to believe," Ark stated with a shrug. He knew from the look on Sherry's face that she wasn't done telling him something so he grinned sheepishly and let her continue.

"And he believes our side is the ones not loyal to him. We're the ones who aren't loyal to the President," Sherry finished, her bright eyes suddenly roving over the crowd. Ark frowned at her and he saw a bitter smile flicker across her lips. "I know. That's what I was thinking too. Out of the two sides, we have the people who are ordered to be loyal to the President. How can we be the ones against him?"

"I think this guy's a little nuts, honestly," Ark stated. He refused to think that he was on the side of a bunch of anarchists. That was completely ludicrous. Especially since, as Sherry had said, they had the Marines and the Secret Service on their side.

"Well… I think it's time you and I paid a visit to Leon."

---

"And when did you get shot?" the doctor asked. Ada had told him about when she'd been shot and had asked if there was anything she should be particularly worried about. She looked over at Leon helplessly and he seemed to count in his head for a minute, gazing into space.

"About…a month ago?" he asked, looking at her. Thinking back, Ada agreed that it was more than likely that she'd gotten shot about a month ago. "Yeah… Because it was before any of the outbreaks and all that shit started happening."  
"And…who took care of the wounds?" the doctor asked. Leon looked sheepish for a moment but Ada smirked.

"He did," she said, motioning towards Leon. The agent shrugged. "Apparently he's a lot more medical savvy than I originally thought."

"After getting shot, I wanted to always have a way of patching myself up incase you weren't there," Leon retorted. Ada raised her eyebrows at him. "What? It's true. I needed a way to take care of myself incase you weren't there and since I have gone on missions where you didn't just magically appear, it's come in handy."

The doctor looked between the two in confusion but Ada just rolled her eyes at Leon. "And here I was, hoping we'd be given the same mission every time. Because that would just be a coincidence right?"

"Hell, with the way you are that's probably true. I doubt I would honestly question why you're in a mission with me because it's just so damned normal," Leon replied, rubbing his shoulder subconsciously. Two sudden knocks at the door startled the two out of their conversation.

"Yes?" the doctor asked, apparently happy to be out of the odd conversation. Leon looked at Ada, who smiled at him cockily. He rolled his eyes at her, eliciting a soft laugh from the Eurasian woman.

"We need to speak to Leon and Ada," a familiar voice said through the door. The doctor cast the duo a confused look and Leon nodded. It was Ark. He knew Ark's voice well enough to recognize it even after all the time he'd gone without ever hearing it.

"Come in," the doctor said.

The door opened and the sanctuary of the med-room was destroyed as noise from the main room of the Bunker spilled in. Leon watched as Ark and Sherry carefully ducked into the room, avoiding the shrieks and insults being thrown at one another. Ada looked at the outside world in confusion. Leon was just plain shocked.

"What's going on out there?" the doctor asked, his voice as confused as Leon and Ada felt. Sherry shook her head bitterly.

"You don't want to know…" she mumbled. The doctor stared at her for a second.

"No… No, I do want to know," he replied steadily.

"The Bunker's fighting," Ark stated. At the obviously confused looks from the other three, he smiled weakly. "It's been divided for a long ass time over what we should do and all that. Well, apparently they decided to wage war upon one another."

"You're kidding me, right?" Leon asked bitterly. He knew Ark wasn't much of a joker but he could hope.

"Nope. We were walking over here when something hit a soldier over here on the head and he reacted. They're still carrying their M4s but they haven't started to use them yet, thank God…" Ark grumbled. "We need to get you two out of here."

Leon looked at Ada in confusion, hoping she'd have some kind of an explanation, but she looked back with a similar confusion. Sherry suddenly made a soft yelping noise as something smashed into the door. Leon and Ada were on their feet in a matter of seconds, guns aimed at the door. Sherry stumbled over to their sides and Leon noticed that in her right hand was Ada's gun. Ark joined them, his own nine millimeter in his hand.

"Open up the door!" somebody shouted viciously. Leon's grip on the gun simply tightened. Ada leveled the Desert Eagle with the average person's head. "Now!"

"We ain't gonna hurt you!" somebody else shouted. Leon looked over at Ada, who had a look of fury on her pale face. She looked like she wanted to shoot somebody now. The assassin seemed to be rearing its head again and Leon wasn't certain whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"We just want to talk," a third person said. When nobody in the med-room responded, loud thuds reverberated through the steel door and the door itself seemed to shake. But it held. Until everybody seemed to pile their weight onto it and the door burst open. The hunk of steel that had offered them protection swung around and smashed into the wall viciously.

Several people stumbled in while the bulk of the crowd served as a barricade between the ones in the room and the outside room of the Bunker. Weapons, like baseballs bats and steel poles, were brandished at the five people in the med-room.

"Just remain calm," a voice ordered. A man stepped forward, looking like nothing special, and holding a baseball bat. "It's just that… We don't want the cannibals coming after us because of you."

"You realize that there's no way the cannibals could make it down here, right? That it's literally impossible for anybody who doesn't have the code to break into the Bunker. This is the most fortified base in the country. It can stop nuclear radiation. It came stop a bunch of morons who eat other people," Leon growled. The man shot him a dirty look and Ada stepped forward, her green eyes narrowed dangerously.  
"Well, we'd like to have the White House in one piece," another man started.

"They were going to come after the White House in the beginning anyway," Sherry snapped angrily, her blue eyes ablaze with anger. Leon hadn't really seen in her in such a defensive attitude.

"How would you know?" somebody snapped.

"The old woman told us," Sherry growled back.

"So, she lied," another replied.

"I doubt that," Ark grumbled.

"We just don't want an assassin in our ranks!" a woman cried.

"Why, for the children?! You're not even protecting them!" Sherry barked furiously. Ada lowered her head, and her gun, and Leon looked over at her in concern. He knew she was saying it was her fault that they were being endangered at the moment. Leon lowered his own gun and was about to say something to her when the crowd surged forward and grabbed at them.

---

Graham turned around to see Leon and Ada dragged out into the main section of the Bunker, Sherry and Ark dragged after them. He raised his eyebrows in confusion as the people stopped and held the four in front of him, almost like sacrifices to a king. Leon looked at him with something akin to hatred. Ada was staring at him with a cold fury that made even Graham cringe.

"What's going on?" he asked, pleasantly enough. Leon's eyes burned with hatred again. Sherry snarled and twisted in her captor's grasp but they were holding onto her arms too tightly for her to free herself. Ark was the only one who didn't really acknowledge the President.

"We're sick of them being in here!" somebody shouted. Graham noticed that the Marines and the Secret Service stared in horror at the scene before them. They wanted to help but Graham knew that they wouldn't fire on helpless civilians. The children stared on in terror at the sight of their heroes being held by their arms and hair. Downing, Claire, Angela, and Lenore all gaped at the scene before them.

"Sick of them being here?" Graham asked in mock confusion. "Now why in the world are you sick of them being here?" Leon suddenly jerked his right arm out of his captor's grasps and threw them all off guard. He stood, freed, next to Ada and stared at Graham. The President's heart sped up. But only a little bit.

"What the hell are you doing?" Leon asked, his voice gruff. Ada snapped her elbow back into one of her captor's faces and he dropped like a rock. She too struggled out of their grasps and the rest of the crowd stared in shock at the two Secret Service agents. "Do you think this is some kind of a game?"

"That's why you came after us," Ada suddenly said, her voice eerily calm. Graham's heart sped up. A lot. "So you could repay us both. Then you could kill us without a second thought."

"What?" Sherry asked, her struggling stopping.

"Now, what in the world are you talking about?" Graham asked calmly. Ada stared at him, her green eyes empty all of a sudden.

"Who's working behind the scenes, David?" she asked, stepping closer to the stage. Graham took a step backwards without even really realizing he'd done it. "Because you aren't. I know you aren't. You don't have the courage to kill the man who saved your precious daughter's life."

"Enough," Graham snarled. Ada shook her head darkly.

"No, not enough actually. Who's the puppet master, Graham? Who's controlling your strings? Because you aren't and I know that for a fact!" she snapped, stepping up onto the stage. The crowd had lost its fury and now Sherry, Ark, and Leon all followed Ada. Leon was right at her side. They stepped around the podium and stared Graham down.

"Who's pulling the strings?" a new voice asked. A man, a short portly fellow with thick facial hair and slicked back greasy looking hair, stepped out from behind the stage. Leon's eyes widened with recognition. "Both of us, really."

"Davis…" Ada breathed. Her eyes were widened with disbelief.

"Next time, you should make sure I'm dead," Davis stated, walking forward. Leon stepped forward, his fists clenched in fury. "Or, you know, don't. And I'll just keep coming back. I'm good at playing dead, don't you think?"

The blond agent looked over at her in slight confusion before shooting Davis a dark look. "And you want us dead why?"

"You…" Sherry stammered. Davis grinned cruelly, ignoring Leon's question and looking at Sherry. "You son of a… You…"

"Tricked you? Yes, I know I did," Davis chuckled. "Oh, who's on the side of the President? Who's on Leon and Ada's side? Who, who, who?"

"You…weren't behind Harvardville, I don't get it," Claire stammered from behind the majority of the crowd.

"You're right, I wasn't. I'm not part of any conspiracy theory if that's what you're talking about. No, I want revenge is all. For the bitch who made me look like a moron," Davis snarled, shooting Ada a dark look. Before anybody could even blink, Leon had grabbed something off of Ada's belt and hurled it through the air. The agent's blade struck Davis in the shoulder and the fat man cried out in shock and pain. He fell to the ground.

"Don't call her that," Leon snarled, his voice laced with such hatred that the entire crowd gaped at him. Ada shot him a surprised look.

"Then… This is just some stupid game to you?" Claire snapped, suddenly moving closer to the stage. Angela was right next to her. Downing limped closer to the stage.

"No… I also wanted to get revenge for her… Releasing the virus," Davis snapped. The look that crossed over Ada's face, confusion and disbelief, was rare.

"What?" Claire asked.

"She 'killed' me," Davis said, using one hand to do air quotes. "And had to purge the files from my computer. Well, one of those files was a file designed to release the virus if it was ever deleted. And guess what she did."

"That's not her fault!" Leon snapped. But the look on Ada's face told Graham that she was already taking the blame of the release of the virus. And the look on her face also told him that the assassin couldn't truly believe, or comprehend, that she was the cause of the deaths of millions, possibly billions, of people.

The room fell into a pregnant silence and all eyes landed on the assassin whose eyes glistened with unknown emotions. Graham felt his heart ache for the woman whose entire life goal was to protect the man she loved more than herself. And here she was, being blamed for something he, Graham, had made her do.

"…You…you should leave," a woman said gently from the crowd. Several others murmured in agreement. Heads bobbed up and down in agreement.

Ada glanced over her shoulder at the crowd before she walked off the stage and towards the exit. Like always, Leon followed her. But this time, following Leon was Ark and Sherry. And following Ark and Sherry was Claire, Downing, Lenore, and Angela. And then, to Graham's amazement and horror, the Marines and the Secret Service and a vast majority of the children, with the wolf-dog, followed the assassin and those following her. Ashley stayed, even though her eyes followed the crowd longingly.

---Washington D.C., February 15th---

"We'll stay in the White House for the night. Then, we'll find somewhere new tomorrow," Gerry said in his booming voice. They were all in the main hall of the White House. Several okays floated up from the crowd. But Leon and Ada remained silent. They sat on the stairs of the White House, Ada's head resting on Leon's shoulder.

"I can't believe…I did this," she whispered to the blond. His left arm wrapped around her and his hand gently stroked her side. He leaned his head against hers.

"You didn't do this… You didn't know," he gently replied. She shook her head at his statement.

"I could've checked, Leon… I could've gone through the files," she weakly argued.

"You wouldn't have known. The type of file he was talking about… It doesn't typically say what it does," he stated.

"I could've just not done it," she tried.

"And get yourself killed? That's ingenious," he said. She pressed herself even tighter to his side and closed her eyes. Leon waited until her breathing slowed and she was obviously asleep. He gently whispered, "Selfish as this may be, I wouldn't have you go back and change a thing… Because…if you did…if none of this had ever happened… I wouldn't have you…"

A/N: This chapter, and many others, would've been up earlier if the site had actually been working.


	13. Chapter 13

The Agent's Blade

---Washington D.C., February 16th---

One or two zombies stumbled across the massive crowd's path every couple hours, their bodies so badly decayed and bloated thanks to the rain that they looked like grotesque balloons. Sherry secretly wondered if they'd pop if somebody stuck them with a knife. She doubted she'd ever have the courage to try such though.

The crowd had formed a protective shield around the children with the Marines and the Secret Service on the outside, the adults on the inside, and then the children in the very middle. Leon and Ada had decided to search the city alone, stating that they were going to look for a shelter on their own while the crowd made its way through the city. It was an attempt to make things go faster by sending the large crowd to one destination while they checked for another, just in case. Nonetheless, Sherry found herself guiding the crowd through the city.

"So, do you think this is going to blow over?" a Marine asked from Sherry's left. The teen looked over at him and was shocked to see a young man, hardly older then she was. "I mean… I've seen Romero's movies… Great movies and all…but his zombie outbreak never stopped. It kept going. It never ended."

"Romero's zombies were different," Sherry stated, shaking her head. She remembered watching Night of the Living Dead nearly a month before Raccoon's ultimate collapse. She'd hated the films ever since. "I mean…look at them. They're bloated. They can hardly walk. That's the thing the living have over the dead. We can walk in the rain."

The Marine laughed at her statement and she found herself smiling too. "Okay, I hear you there. You think… You think the crowd will make Leon and Ada into their leaders?"

"Like a king and queen? They might want to. It's human instinct to follow a higher power. But…Leon…nor Ada…would do that," Sherry said. Leon was too good a man. He was no leader. He'd told her that himself all those years ago. She also doubted that he wanted to take the chance of having the threat of being overthrown by the people who followed him in a bad situation.

"Really? Maybe Gerry will lead us then. Or one of the Secret Service," he said. She looked over at him, confused. "I just think that these people need a leader. They're panicking and confused. They don't know what to do or who to follow. If they have a leader, like a president or a king or whatever, they'll do well."

"Once the world goes back to normal, the government will re-establish itself," Sherry remarked. He smirked and shrugged.

"Until then though…"

"You know," Sherry said, looking back at the crowd of people. "I think I know who will end up leading us."

"Who?"

She smiled but said nothing.

---

They were crouched beside a bus, their bodies pressed closely together with her back against his chest as the creature walked around. It's reptilian and fish-like features were all too familiar and Leon knew Ada could feel his heart pounding against his chest. With only a Desert Eagle and a USP, they were screwed if Curtis noticed them near the bus.

_Please…please Sherry keep them away from here… He'll find Angela…he'll snap again…he'll kill us all and this will all be for nothing, _he thought, somehow hoping that Sherry would magically hear his thoughts. She was, after all, basically leading the people through the city while he and Ada searched for a building large enough to house them all. He deeply regretted splitting away from the group.

Curtis sniffed the air suddenly and Ada's hand gripped his leg above his knee. He tightened his grip on her arm unconsciously. The monster shifted slightly, his tail whipping the air angrily. Leon and Ada were in the shadows of the bus so they were practically invisible. But the G-Virus gave Curtis an enhanced sense of vision so if he looked over at them, they were doomed. He just had to hope that their luck held out.

The sudden sound of breaking glass startled the agent and the assassin and they both looked up in shock to see liquid dribbling off of the monster. Before Leon could even think a question, a lighter seemed to fall from the sky and lit the monster on fire. The orange flames ate at the monster immediately and it thrashed furiously, screaming in pain and anger. A familiar person ran towards Leon and Ada. It was Danielle, the cannibal who'd shown Leon some extent of friendliness.

"Come on before it attacks," she said, motioning for them. The two stood and she led them deeper into the city, away from the flaming monster.

"That won't kill it," Ada warned as they ran, glancing back at the monster.

"We don't need it to be killed," Danielle replied. "We just need to slow it down."

"Where are you taking us?" Leon asked, realizing he recognized the alleyway she was leading them through. His heart seemed to beat even faster as memories of pain and hatred coursed through his mind. She slowed to a walk and looked at him over her shoulder.

"Not all of us are evil. True, we ate other humans but times were bad and we were easily tricked. Fatso's dieing and our people are falling apart. Some of us…we want to go back to being normal. We were hoping you'd help us," she explained, her voice soft.

"The rest of the survivors would never accept that," Leon stated. Ada nodded in agreement with his statement. Danielle lowered her head sadly. "I'm sorry…"

"No, it's okay. Honestly, I expected that. But…could you at least lead us to a new home?" she asked. Leon looked at Ada and saw the fury building in the Eurasian woman's eyes. He knew why she was angry. He took her hand in his own, making her look at him, and he smiled at her.

"I'll find you a new home. But why are you taking us back…?" he started. Danielle stopped walking as they reached a building Leon knew all too well.

"I need to get the others. You guys should stay out here. There are still some cannibals inside," she said, walking into the building. The alley was almost black and Leon barely noticed the pale figure sitting next to the door. Ada inhaled sharply as she noticed him.

Fatso wasn't looking too good. The man's face was a bloody mess and from his neck down all Leon could see was crimson. The agent might've been appalled once. But after what Fatso had done to him, and nearly done to Ada, all he felt was satisfaction. Ada had told him but seeing was different. Leon had never deemed himself morbid in any way, shape, or form but he was actually _glad _to see Fatso covered in blood and pretty much dead to the world.

"I'm surprised they didn't eat him," Ada growled, her voice very bitter. Leon squeezed her hand soothingly. "Of course, he'd probably clog their arteries with how fat he is." Leon shook his head silently.  
Fatso suddenly seemed to look over at them, as if he could recognize the voice of his torturer. But he said nothing. And Leon was glad. He doubted he'd be able to stop himself from killing the catatonic bastard if Fatso had spoken.

---

"Look, a news building," somebody pointed out as they walked. They walked past the large news building quietly, though Sherry quietly wondered if that was possibly a good home. Sherry was hoping to get to the apartment buildings she, Leon, Ada, Angela, and Lenore had first come across. It seemed to be the safest and most hospitable place now that she'd traversed the majority of the city.

"Apartments?" the Marine, Pete, asked from her left. "Is that where you're taking us?"

"You recognize this section of the city?" Sherry asked.

He nodded and said, "I lived in this part of the city before I joined the Marines. We could live in the apartments, actually. We could get some generators up and running. We could get some water running. We could even get medical supplies from the hospital since it's not too far away."

She smiled at his optimistic approach. She and Leon had talked about where they would be living now that they'd left the Bunker before he and Ada had taken off on their own. He'd said that if he and Ada couldn't find anywhere safer, the apartments would be the best idea. She'd agreed and told him that she'd take the crowd there if she couldn't find somewhere safer either.

"What's taking Leon and Ada so long?" somebody suddenly asked, breaking the teen from her thoughts. Sherry looked over at Pete who frowned silently.

"Maybe they're hurt," somebody offered. A soft gasp seemed to escape several people.

"I'd like to see somebody try to hurt Leon," Sherry mumbled to herself. After what had happened to him with the cannibals, the teen doubted Ada would be letting something like that happen again.

"We're here," Pete said, startling her. She hadn't even realized they were so close to the apartments. In fact, she couldn't even really believe that they'd made it so far from the White House in such a short amount of time. And even better, they hadn't encountered many zombies so they had more than enough ammo.

"Alright folks, I'm going to send the Marines in to clear out any undead and then…this will be our new home," Sherry called over the crowd. To her shock, a collective sigh of relief ran through the crowd.

---

About ten cannibals followed Danielle out of the building and Ada found herself holding Leon's USP in her hand instead of leaving it in its holster. The cannibals eyed her warily but said nothing. She watched them emptily, almost feeling the assassin within her bubbling to life again.

"We'll take you to the apartments down the block but no farther," Leon said. Ada was glad that the agent was obviously thinking about their friends instead of the cannibals. "Keep close."

"My brother and my friend offered to go ahead and keep an eye on the monster," Danielle suddenly said. Leon shrugged and two people ran off. Ada cast the blond a cautious look. That was one thing they hadn't talked about. The fact that Curtis was in the city was going to cause problems. He'd tear the city to pieces hunting after Angela and if Sherry was right and nothing short of a nuclear bomb would kill the G-weapon, then they were doomed.

Leon started to lead the small group back out of the alleyway, leaving Fatso behind to his blank staring. Ada found herself thinking up ways to get rid of Curtis. But she couldn't think of anything. Nothing that made sense anyway.

"What are we going to do about Curtis?" Ada asked as they walked down the street, not acknowledging the two people that ran back over to them. One of them stayed back with the majority of the group while the other walked over to the agent and the assassin. There was no sign of Curtis.

"The monster's heading back towards the White House," the cannibal said, looking at Leon and Ada. The assassin looked up at Leon, who looked back down at her.

"Maybe we'll get lucky," the agent started. "And he'll spend the rest of his lifetime trying to open the Bunker. And we'll be safe."

Ada smiled at him and breathed, "With your luck, I wouldn't be surprised if that's exactly what's going to happen." He gently laughed but secretly prayed to whatever god was willing to listen that they wouldn't be seeing Curtis Miller, dead or alive, ever again.

A/N: So, I hate the way this is ending up. I know it seems like it's falling together too easily but…hey…weirder things have happened.


	14. Chapter 14

The Agent's Blade

---Washington D.C., February 16th---

"This place should be good enough for you guys to live in," Leon said, motioning towards a news building. The cannibals, though they claimed they weren't cannibals anymore, looked it over curiously.

"Why the news building?" Danielle's brother Jason asked.

"Because I said so," Leon grumbled, too quietly for them to hear. Honestly, he wanted to get somewhere relatively safe and get some rest. His head was pounding. Everything that had been happening the last month or so was finally getting to him. Everything about Ada, everything about the President, the cannibals, they were all pushing down on his head and soon he was going to snap. He just wanted to rest.

"It's safe," Ada answered for him. He was very grateful for her sudden intervention. "Very safe. And we'll be close by if you ever need help. But please, do hesitate to ask for help first."

Leon wanted to laugh but forced himself not to. The cannibals looked at them for a moment before they all headed off towards the building. Leon almost felt like some kind of weight had just been lifted from his shoulders.

---The Bunker, February 16th---

The President of the United States sat with his back against the wall. Davis was talking to the remaining people, telling them that those stupid enough to leave were going to be dead within a few days. They, obviously, didn't agree but the idea of leaving the safe haven that was the Bunker was keeping them from saying too much. Ashley and Graham's wife sat next to him and they were almost a family again.

Before Graham could even think, a loud banging noise echoed through the Bunker. It happened again, almost as if something was trying to get through one of the bulkhead doors that protected the Bunker. Again, another ferocious bang echoed, even louder than the other two.

"What is that?!" somebody cried.

Graham lifted his eyes to the ceiling and wanted to laugh. He had a funny feeling it was Curtis Miller, who'd followed his sister's scent to the Bunker. But the bulkheads weren't going to be opened by the monster. No, not much could get through the big doors. But that wasn't going to stop Curtis. He would pound on those doors forever and more, as long as the G-Virus gave him strength and regenerated all of his wounds.

"We should've gone with them," his wife mumbled softly. Graham nodded but said nothing.

_Oh…Karma...is a real bitch._

---Washington D.C., February 16th---

After leaving the cannibals, as quickly as possible, Leon and Ada headed towards the apartments that Sherry had told him she'd go to. If they weren't there, Leon knew that he and Ada would have to look elsewhere in the city but he had a funny feeling that's where Sherry and the others were. After all, they were homely, even after the end of the world.

"Look," Ada said, pointing to one building with a set of Marines standing in front of it. The two looked up at the assassin and the agent and smiled brightly. Leon felt a sigh of relief escape him and Ada gently smiled.

When they were near the soldiers, Ada asked, "Did everybody make it here okay?"

"They sure did. It was amazing. Everybody was just off in their own little world and we got here really fast," one of the Marines said. Ada smirked faintly and Leon felt another weight lifted from his shoulders.

_Everything seems to be falling into place… Does this mean we actually have some _good _luck for once? That's a frightening thought._

The Marines led them inside and, to their amazement, they were greeted with happy cheers from the crowd of people. Sherry stood at the top of the stairs and waved at them, while everybody cheered.

"What's this all about?" Ada finally asked as the cheers started to become silent.

"You guys have saved us," a woman said. "Without you, we'd all be in that Bunker, suffering. God knows what would've happened eventually. You're heroes."

"Not really," Ada disagreed. Leon looked over at her curiously before smiling at the crowd.

"She's modest folks," he stated. Ada shot him a dirty look but she was still smiling. However, Gerry suddenly walked towards them.

"Things are still going to be difficult. And you both know that," he said calmly. He looked at Leon, and Ada, with something close to respect. But he still held himself with the steady aloofness that all soldiers had when they needed it.

"Of course," Leon said. Gerry moved out of his way so he could speak to the crowd. Leon felt an old sense of stage fright deep in his heart but when Ada moved closer to his side, it vanished. "We all know that there will be problems. There will be hardships. And I'm not going to give you some ridiculous speech that if we work together, everything will be perfectly fine and we'll all live happily ever after. Honestly, that's unlikely.

"But if we do work together, if we do create ourselves a miniature community, I can assure you that every child in this building will live to see the rebuilding of mankind. I will personally see that they all reach their sixteenth, their eighteenth, their twenty-first birthdays.

"I can't promise that all of us adults will live to see mankind's ultimate revival. We still have zombies and monsters and other, less significant things to worry about. But…we'll fight. We're humans. We always fight."

The crowd in front of him roared with praise and happiness. His promises seemed to hit the people in their hearts. The children, once so dulled down and empty by the situation, laughed and cheered along with their new family. Sherry grinned at Leon from the stairs.

"First things first," Gerry said. "We'll need a makeshift government."

"I vote for Sherry as President," a young Marine called. Everybody gasped and Sherry looked very shocked. "Out of all of us, she understands the situation the best," the Marine continued. "And I know that she'll have Leon and Ada and everybody else to help her out."

Gerry looked at the young man in shock before a smirk found its way onto his lips and he said, "Okay, why not. All for Sherry as President?"

To Leon's, and obviously Sherry's, amazement, the majority of the crowd lifted their hands in agreement. The young teen looked amazed but Leon smirked at her confidently. Although she was young, Leon knew how intelligent she was. He knew she'd make some good decisions. And as the Marine had said, she'd have help.

"Okay. Welcome to your presidency, Madam President. What else. How about a court system. Should we have one?" Gerry asked. Leon shook his head.

"Not yet. It's not like we have any crimes to deal with right now. How about others leader figures? Vice President, assistants, all those kinds of things?" Leon asked. Gerry nodded thoughtfully and Ada grabbed Leon's arm right above his elbow. As Gerry started to ask for nominees, Ada led Leon down a hall and away from the crowd.

"Decided to keep you all to myself," she said, hugging him when they were far enough. Leon heard Ark's name get called out. But before he could say anything to Ada, a cold nose pressed to his hand. He nearly jumped but upon looking down he noticed it was just Hero, looking for attention. "Okay, I apparently have to share you with a dog."

"Let's walk," he said, leading her down the hallway. He wrapped his arm around her waist as they walked and Hero trotted ahead of them. The Marines had obviously gone through and made sure there weren't any zombies. Before Leon could say anything else, the dog again interrupted him by barking at a room. Ada looked up at Leon curiously before they entered the room.

Hero led them into the dark room, obviously the superintendent's room, until he came to a small black box on a table. He looked at it curiously and it suddenly squawked to life. Leon recognized human voices spilling from the black box.

"A radio," he mumbled.

"That's…. Russian," Ada stated, cocking her head curiously. "It's picking up signals from Russia."

"That's amazing," he remarked.

_Things… Things are actually looking up…_

---The Bunker, February 17th---

Curtis didn't know how long he'd been pounding on the door. But he knew his typically numb hands were aching now. And the door still stood without a single dent on it. But he continued to smash his clawed hand into the steel, even when the claws snapped off and fell to the ground. They'd come back. Eventually.

All Curtis cared about was getting to Angela. And he'd hit the door until it collapsed, no matter how long it took.

---Washington D.C., February 17th---

"President Sherry Birkin, Vice President Ark Thompson, Assistant to the President Jonathon Michaels, and Commander in Charge of Military Gerald Patens which is a new title. Those are the people in charge, basically," Claire said to Leon as she wrote them on a sheet of paper somebody had found. "Secret Service and Marines are joining together. They're going to be like…one big military instead of having two different kinds. Um, they want to give you two some kind of rank."

"Like?" Leon asked. Ada looked over at him in concern. They'd agreed the night before that they would simply be two people in the crowd.

"Police, I guess. A couple people who know how to use guns are putting together a police force," Claire stated. "Angela, me, and a couple others are going to be in it officially. Well, they want one of you to be the sheriff and the other to be the chief."

Ada looked over at Leon and smiled. "I think we can join the police force handsome." He nodded in agreement and Claire wrote their names down.

The ex-agent and the ex-assassin exited the room and saw Ark telling people where they'd be living from now on. Gerry had sent out a troop of soldiers to find food, water, and medicine. Downing and the doctor were going to be dealing with food and medicine, since they had the medical knowledge.

Hero lay stretched out next to the new President, whose blue eyes were wide with worry. "Sherry," Leon said steadily, remembering that the girl told him not to call her Madam President. "Calm down, kiddo."

"Oh, thank you so much, Leon, Sherry laughed at him, the nervous look on her face disappearing. A split second later, the teen realized what he'd done and smiled at him. "Thank you," she said sincerely. Leon grinned and he and Ada walked off.

He and Ada exited the building, stepping into the cool air of the fading winter, and saw distant smoke in the direction of the news station. Ada sighed and stated, "Either they did that on accident or they really like killing each other."

Leon laughed before he sighed and pulled his dog tags, which all Secret Service were given, out and took them off. Ada looked in the direction of the hospital but he gently placed his hand, which wasn't holding the dog tags, on her shoulder. She looked over at him, her eyes confused.

"I know I'm technically supposed to be on one knee and all of that but… And I know I'm supposed to give you a ring but this is all I have at the moment so… Will you marry me anyway?"

She stared at him, her right hand unconsciously taking the dog tags, and a smile unlike any he'd ever seen on her before formed on her lips. "Even though I doubt sheriffs are supposed to marry chiefs… Oh whatever, of course I will," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him.

A/N: The End. Cliché? Yes. Oh well. I like the way it ended. Not the last couple chapters though. Epilogue up next.


	15. Chapter 15

The Agent's Blade

_"This is Leon Scott Kennedy broadcasting from Washington D.C. on February 24__th__ 2006. About a week ago, fellow Secret Service agent Ada Wong and I led a large group of people out of the Bunker, which was designed to protect the President in a situation like this. We all came to an apartment building in downtown Washington D.C. and we've been living here since. We've got food, water, housing, and medical supplies. If anybody's out there and you can get here, you're more than welcome to come. But be warned, we're not the friendliest people in the world. Anarchy is not accepted. _

_"The T-Virus in D.C. has started to create crimson heads or zombies that can run and are typically more brutal than zombies. They'll soon mutate again and again until they turn into lickers, vicious creatures. Previous hopes that the T-Virus would die off on its own are being forgotten. The T-Virus is very likely permanent. But that doesn't mean that humans can't survive. We lived with the Black Plague. I'm certain we can handle the T-Virus. We just have to cooperate is all._

_"Again, any survivors are welcome here as long as you're willing to agree with our living style. This is Washington D.C.'s final broadcast. Over and out."_


End file.
